How Much Worse Can It Get?

action alert!

According to the Humane Society, a hog farm in Kentucky is trying to combat disease by grinding up the bodies of dead piglets and feeding them to their own mothers.

USDA: Stop this Abysmal Practice Immediately

Dear Carolin, 

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, or PEDV, has killed more than two million piglets in the United States since 2013. And at a farm in Kentucky, animal handlers have decided the best way to prevent the spread of the disease is to grind up the bodies of the piglets killed by PEDV -- and feed them to their own mothers.

According to a video released by the Humane Society, Iron Maiden Hog Farm has been making the baby pigs' intestines into what the HSUS calls a "piglet smoothie" and feeding the concoction back to the sows, some of whom could be their mothers.

The farmers claim this is the only way to stop the spread of PEDV. But instances of the virus are much higher in stressful situations -- such as factory farms like Iron Maiden, where sows are kept trapped in tiny ge station crates so small they can barely turn their bodies. If farms improved conditions for all pigs, they would be healthier and less likely to get the disease in the first place.

And the "piglet smoothies" aren't just disgusting and possibly unnecessary; they might also be illegal. The Swine Health Protection Act forbids feeding untreated waste, including animal material, to hogs.

We have to stand against this barbaric practice. Ask the USDA to ban all hog farms from feeding dead piglets to adult hogs! 
 

Thank you for taking action,  Kathleen Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team