Page 22 - Hillside 2015 20th Anniversary Newsletter

By 2011, we had looked at 30 RSPCA This farm had a long-standing
Freedom Food farms and ten - a third of RSPCA Freedom Food
them - were so bad, they have either been accreditation and we were just
the subject of a high-profile television concluding a year-long undercover
programme and/or a court case based on documentary
our evidence. ‘A Year of Life, Death and Suffering
on a Freedom Food Duck Farm’,
when we encountered these
barbaric scenes.

Staff Caught Abusing Ducks Destined for Waitrose on Freedom Food Farm ..

Both Sky News and Channel 5 broadcast our shocking investigation of conditions at a Gressingham Throwing live ducks is incredibly inhumane and would
Foods farm, which was supplying ducks to Waitrose as high welfare, free-range produce. most certainly have caused suffering through pain or
injury to the birds. The footage shows unacceptable
Covered in faeces, an injured duck lies on Our secretly-filmed footage at Hall Farm in levels of lameness and injury in the flock. Birds that are
Norfolk, where we found an RSPCA ‘Freedom ill or injured should receive veterinary attention or be
the barn floor in a scene from the footage Food’ certificate displayed proudly on the wall, humanely culled without delay. Dead birds,in a state of
22 showed frightened birds being picked up by their decomposition that haven't been removed, present a
necks before being swung around and thrown at risk of disease to the living birds and is indicative of a
the other ducks, as they were herded into crates lack of even the most basic level of stockmanship duties."
to be taken away for slaughter.
Despite being told that those responsible had been
Farm animal welfare expert Dr Marc Cooper said: suspended, they later avoided prosecution when the
"Commercially reared meat ducks are flightless, RSPCA claimed that the staff working that night couldn’t
heavy animals and handling them in this manner is be identified!!!
likely to cause injury to their neck, legs and body.