A man has been charged with bestiality at a northern Victorian piggery after animal activists provided the footage to police.
Warning: This story contains graphic allegations and images of animal cruelty that some readers may find disturbing.
Last month activists from Farm Transparency Project broke into Midland Bacon at Carag Carag and installed secret cameras inside the facility which filmed about 18 days of vision.
The cameras captured legal industry practices including workers using blunt force to euthanise runt piglets as well as clipping teeth, tails and ears which is performed to prevent injury and infection.
CCTV cameras installed by the activists also captured vision of a man allegedly performing a sexual act against a pig at the facility.
7.30 can reveal on Tuesday March 3 police charged 30-year-old Carag Carag man Bradley O’Reilly with bestiality after the activists reported the alleged act to police.
Mr O’Reilly will appear in court in June.
In a statement, a spokesman for Midland Bacon said it was “unable to comment on the police charge as this matter was now before the courts”.
“We are committed to humane processing practices, and our methods are in line with accepted industry standards.
“We are audited twice a year to ensure we meet our legal responsibilities for livestock animal welfare.”
Pig welfare inquiry
Activists from Farm Transparency Project will give evidence about the vision filmed at Midland Bacon at a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the welfare of farmed pigs on Tuesday, March 12.
The inquiry was announced last year after 7.30 aired vision of C02 gas stunning also captured by Farm Transparency Project.
Farm Transparency Project Strategy and Campaigns director Harley McDonald-Eckersall told 7.30 that while the use of blunt force and the clipping of teeth, ears and teeth are legal, it does not make it right.
“We’re going to be approaching their inquiry, and basically saying what we’ve learned over decades of activists doing this work, which is that there is no form of animal confinement, that is humane, that is ethical,” Ms McDonald-Eckersall said.
Animal welfare expert Ellen Jongman reviewed the vision for 7.30 of Midland Bacon workers using blunt force to euthanise run piglets, teeth and ear clipping and tail docking.
Dr Jongman said the vision was within industry standards but many farms were moving away from those practices.
“The process of moving to [national] animal welfare standards has been very slow.
“Part of the problem is that one of the states has to champion the development of animal welfare standards for a particular species.
“And that process has been very slow and it would be much better … if there was more of a national approach to that, and if there was a bit more of urgency behind it as well, because some of these codes are more than 20 years old.
“And you can imagine the changes that have happened in the last 20 years in terms of animal welfare.”
Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell, who is chairing the inquiry into the welfare of farmed pigs, said the regulation of the pig industry was very confusing.
“We of course, have the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in Victoria. But farmed animals are regularly exempt from it,” she said.
Ms Purcell said codes of practice needed to be not only updated, but mandatory.
“They are voluntary right now. And when we look at our codes of practice for companion animals, they are mandatory,” Ms Purcell said.
“So essentially, it’s up to the pig industry and different farms to decide how they want to treat their animals.”
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