Up to 200 animal rights activists promoting ‘vegan lifestyle’ storm pig farm to stage sit-down protest against factory farming
- Around 100 activists went inside pig farrowing house and are refusing to leave
- Group Meat The Victims UK want to ‘expose the reality of factory pig farming’
- Animal rights protesters went to Sandilands Pigs, Lincoln, as its a standard farm
Around 200 activists from all over the country have stormed a pig farm as part of a protest against the factory farming industry in the UK.
Activist group Meat The Victims UK arrived at Sandilands Pigs near Laughterton, Lincoln, in their droves at around 11am and have been at the farm all day.
The group say that they want to ‘expose the reality of factory farming’ to the public and 100 activists are inside a farrowing house interacting with pigs.
Videos from the scene show the activists wearing white suits and masks inside one of the huts, while another 100 people are outside with signs and posters.
Around 200 activists, left some inside a pig hut and right a pig in a farrowing pen today, are protesting at Sandilands Pigs in Lincoln about the factory farming industry in the UK
Many animal rights campaigners also stood outside the farm holding signs and posters
Activist Chris Hines told MailOnline that the group wants to make the pig farming industry ‘more transparent’ and let the public know the truth behind their meat.
He said: ‘Around 100 activists who have come from all over the country are inside the farrowing house now, calmly interacting with the mother pigs and piglets.
‘The mothers are in farrowing crates. The space inside a crate is enough for them to take a few steps and they can stand up and sit down, they can’t turn around.
‘They will be in there for about six to eight weeks while they let the pigs suckle. The idea behind them being in this is so they don’t crush the piglets.
The animal rights campaigners say they want the industry to be more ‘transparent’ and did not chose Sandilands Pigs for any other reason other than to show a standard practice UK farm
‘They only have a few inches to move around – if these were dogs there would be outrage.’
Mr Hines also explained that the activists did not chose Sandilands Pigs for any specific reason except to show that this is the standard type of farm in the industry.
Joey Carbstrong said: ‘The message is that these places operate in secrecy, the public are funding something and they have no idea what goes on in there.
‘We are trying to bring what happens in here into the light.
‘We want to advocate for a plant based lifestyle, a vegan lifestyle so that these places don’t exist and animals are free.
People from all over the country turned up at the protest which has been going since 11am
The activists have been sharing updates from their protest on Facebook and say the won’t leave the Lincoln farm until the story is covered in the media.
Speaking to Lincoln Live joint owner of the farm Sylvia Hook, 59, said the activists had caused damage in the hut and claimed they caused the deaths of two piglets.
Ms Hook said: ‘About 50 of them all piled into a farrowing house, immediately the sows are jumping up and down.
‘It’s caused the death of two young piglets through being squashed and two other piglets i’ve had to take.’
However the activists deny this and claim they found dead animals inside when they entered the farm house.
Mr Hines added that the activists inside the farrowing house have been calmly talking to and reassuring the pigs and interacting with the piglets.