Members of a national animal rights organization made their way to Glenmont in late September to protest the alleged abuse of pigs by Wal-Mart pork suppliers.
The group Mercy for Animals is touring the nation to speak out against the use of gestation crates used when raising pigs for slaughter. Members of the organization have already traveled to 45 stores near major cities to tell customers about their findings using “hidden-camera methods.”
A small demonstration took place on Wednesday, Sept. 26, in front of Bethlehem Town Center plaza along Route 9W in Glenmont. Both local and national members of the group were in attendance, as was a giant inflatable pig locked in a small crate.
“We are asking Wal-Mart to take a stand against this egregious animal abuse and tell their suppliers to end the use of gestation crates,” said Phil Letten, the group’s national campaign coordinator.
Gestation crates, or “sow stalls,” are small, metal enclosures used by many large pig farming facilities to keep pregnant, females pigs separate from one another. They are often extremely small, and do not allow the pig room for movement. Most animal rights groups view the practice as inhumane.
The Mercy for Animals organization would like Wal-Mart to ask their suppliers to phase out usage of the crates. According to the group, companies like McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipotle, Safeway and Costco have all made similar requests of their suppliers.
“The practice of confining sensitive, intelligent, and social pigs into tiny gestation crates has been widely condemned by veterinarians and leading farmed animal welfare experts. Confining a pregnant pig inside a narrow gestation crate, where she is virtually immobilized, has been banned in nine U.S. states and the entire European Union,” read a statement from the group.
The group claims to have gone undercover at a farm to secretly record the conditions at one of Wal-Mart’s pork suppliers. The video has been posted onto the website walmartcruelty.com and is narrated by longtime animal rights advocate and former Price is Right host Bob Barker.
The graphic video shows pigs in dirty gestation crates, piglets being neutered without anesthetics and sick and dying pigs left without veterinary care. However, nowhere in the video does it show the name of the farm to confirm it was actually shot at a Wal-Mart pork supplier as claimed.
Letten said Wal-Mart pork suppliers are guilty of horrific misdeeds toward animals.
“This is blatant animal abuse that no socially responsible corporation should be supporting,” he said. “If Wal-Mart pork producers subjected dogs and cats to the array of standard abuses they inflict on pigs, they would be arrested and jailed on grounds of animal cruelty.”
Deisha Galberth Barnett, senior director of Corporate Communications for Wal-Mart U.S., called the issue “complicated.”
“There are different points of view,” she said in an email. “We currently offer gestation crate-free pork products in a number of stores across the U.S. and will continue our ongoing discussions with suppliers, nongovernmental organizations and food safety experts to increase that number. We hold our suppliers to the highest standards and do not tolerate animal mistreatment.”
She suggested anyone interested in knowing more about how grocers and restaurants source pork products to contact the National Pork Board or visit pork.org.
Shoppers at the Glenmont Walmart had different views on the subject. Some had not even seen the demonstration before entering the plaza, while others honked their car horns in support or stopped to speak with the group to learn more information.
Barbra Vardabash, of Westerlo, said she does eat meat, but is also an animal lover.
“I think animals should be treated as humanely as possible, even if they are going to be eaten,” she said. “It should be the store’s responsibility to check how the animals are treated, but I don’t always trust they do.”
One shopper hailing from Delmar said demonstrations by animal rights groups do not deter her from patronizing certain stores.
“I think if you’re going to eat meat, you have to accept the animals are not going to have a wonderful life,” she said. “Some suppliers are worse than others. I’m more concerned about the use of additives and antibiotics.”
The Mercy for Animals Walmart Cruelty tour is in its ninth week and will continue near cities along the East Coast.