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The Maschhoffs responds to undercover video

One of the nation’s leading producers of pork, The Maschhoffs, says it is investigating allegations made in an undercover video allegedly shot at one of its Nebraska sow operations.

In a statement on its web site, Maschhoffs’ president Bradley Wolter says the firm has “zero tolerance for any abuse or mistreatment of our pigs—and this instance is no exception”. Wolter says they will take swift corrective actions to address the allegations, “including fully cooperating with authorities in any criminal investigation”.

The video, released by an animal rights group called Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), shows pigs with prolapsed rectums, intestinal rupture and large open wounds. The group says its undercover employee also documented long stretches of time—up to three days—where the pigs received no food, leading them to become agitated, hurting themselves and each other.

ALDF says it has sent letters to the Nebraska and Illinois attorney general’s office requesting a criminal investigation. The Maschhoffs is based in Carlyle, Illinois.

One of Maschhoffs’ largest customers, Hormel Foods, issued a statement saying it has suspended purchases from all of Maschhoff’s sow operations in Nebraska “while a thorough investigation is completed”.