Hollywood actress Karen Gillan took to Twitter to express her views on the Aberdeenshire pig farm which is under investigation after pigs were filmed being hammered to death.
Ms Gillan, born in Inverness and best known for her roles in Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jumanji, said she was “horrified” to read the story.
Mr Sleigh’s farm, P&G Sleigh Pig Unit at Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, was recently the subject of an undercover investigation by Animal Equality UK.
Ms Gillan took to Twitter to tell her 1.2 million followers that she was “horrified” to learn of the alleged abuse at P&G Sleigh Unit.
She later warned her followers that it was a “very upsetting story.”
The investigation
The investigation uncovered graphic footage of pigs on the farm suffering extreme injuries, with some even being hammered to death on a concrete floor.
It also found that the animals were being kept in squalid, dark conditions.
The Scottish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (Scottish SPCA) has confirmed a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.
Mr Sleigh’s farm has also been removed from the QMS quality assurance scheme.
Supermarket involvement
Ms Gillan also tagged supermarkets Lidl and Tesco in her thread on Twitter:
This meat was sold to supermarkets including @Tesco and @LidlGB. I’m shocked to think about how long this terrible cruelty was going on and I wonder how we can go about getting stronger regulations on the treatment of animals. @foodgov @peta
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) May 3, 2021
She said: “This meat was sold to supermarkets including @Tesco and @LidlGB. I’m shocked to think about how long this terrible cruelty was going on and I wonder how we can go about getting stronger regulations on the treatment of animals. @foodgov @peta”
Both companies have previously spoken out about the investigation.
A spokesperson from Tesco said: “The conditions shown on this farm are completely unacceptable. We require all farms in our supply chain to adhere to strict animal welfare standards and we delisted this supplier as soon as we were made aware of these allegations.”
A spokesperson from Lidl GB said: “We take the matter of animal welfare extremely seriously and are committed to maintaining high welfare and traceability standards throughout our supply chain. All of our fresh pork originating from Scotland is assured to QMS certified standards.
“Upon learning of these concerning allegations the farm has been suspended from our supply chain with immediate effect, pending a full and thorough investigation by QMS.”
Further action
Ms Gillan later tweeted that she hopes to look into the issue of inspection of farms containing animals further.