Secret footage obtained by The Independent shows pigs being raised in cruel and illegal conditions in Italy’s Parma ham production plants.

Italian animal rights group Lega Anti Vivisezione (LAV) filmed the undercover footage, with witnesses confirming the conditions.

The animals were found to be living in filthy, overcrowded sheds and suffered from untreated infections from tail docking. These conditions go against EU rules.

The video, filmed at six intensive farming locations in Italy, is ‘the shocking reality for many pigs farmed in the EU’, according to animal welfare campaigners.

The plants in question, which produce Parma ham and other speciality pork meats, are shipped to supermarkets in the UK and elsewher, wher they are considered to be a luxury product.

The footage showed pigs suffering from infections and lesions, in dilapidated facilities with insufficient ventilation and water.  Routine tail docking is standard, and rotting carcasses can often be found alongside live animals. Across all six plants, the animals were confined to overcrowded, indoor facilities with no bedding or outside stimulation.

UK environmental organisation Compassion in World Farming spokesperson Sean Gifford said: “The conditions seen on these farms are cruel and in many cases illegal. These pigs are not being treated as sentient beings, but as mere meat-producing machines.”

“Sadly, the appalling conditions revealed in the footage are typical of the shocking reality for many pigs farmed in the EU. The terrible plight of these pigs highlights the need for pig welfare standards to be implemented in Italy and across the EU.”

EU law states that pigs must have ‘permanent access to a sufficient quantity of material to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities, such as straw, hay, wood, sawdust, mushroom compost, peat or a mixture’.

Routine tail docking is illegal under EU law despite the practice being widespread.  Animal welfare organisation Eurogroup for Animals launched a petition to end cruel practices and enforce EU law.

UK-based Animal Aid director Isobel Hutchinson told Food Processing Technology: “This shocking footage epitomises the horrific cruelty involved in animal farming. And consumers should be aware that pigs farmed in the UK suffer terribly too.”

“We have filmed inside many pig farms over the years and have been appalled at our findings. We have repeatedly filmed sick animals, dead animals left to rot, and animals forced to live in bleak, soul-destroying conditions. We would urge anyone who cares about animals to withdraw their funding from the cruel farming industry and go vegan.”