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A Welsh farmer has drawn criticism after claiming that screams heard in slaughterhouse footage were “edited” in post-production.
Angharad Lloyd, who runs a website named Farmers Against Misinformation, was recently interviewed by vegan YouTuber Plant Geezer (real name Jake Ball).
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At one point in the interview, the two were discussing carbon dioxide (CO2) gassing, a method of slaughter used for around 90 percent of the 10.8 million pigs killed each year in the UK. Though widely used, CO2 gassing has long been criticized for being extremely painful and inhumane.
Despite this, Lloyd claimed that pigs “just fall asleep” while being gassed with CO2, adding: “They stay together and they’re a lot calmer.” When Ball showed her a video of the method in use, depicting pigs thrashing and screaming, he asked: “Does that sound like they’re falling asleep peacefully?”
To this, Lloyd responded: “They look alright, don’t they?” She then claimed that “the screaming is added on. It’s edited.”
‘A tragic denial of immense suffering’
Contrary to Lloyd’s claims, CO2 gassing does not simply put pigs to sleep. Upon arrival at the slaughterhouse, the pigs – typically around six months old – are forced onto a metal gondola and lowered into a chamber filled with high concentrations of CO2 gas. The gas forms carbonic acid on moist surfaces, including the eyes, lungs, and throat, causing intense pain. Multiple undercover investigations have documented pigs thrashing and screaming in apparent agony before losing consciousness.
In response to Lloyd’s words, Faye Lewis – head of communications at animal rights organization Viva! – told Plant Based News: “To suggest that pigs simply ‘fall asleep’ when they’re gassed is not only misleading, it’s a tragic denial of the immense suffering these poor animals endure. This is not peaceful. It is not humane. It is two minutes of sheer panic, as pigs thrash violently, cry out, and scream in terror and agony.
It’s not just animal charities that have spoken out against pig gassing. More than 20 years ago, the government’s own Farm Animal Welfare Council recommended that the method should not be used. Other gasses – such as nitrogen and argon – have been shown to be less abrasive to pigs, but these are more expensive options than CO2, leading some to believe that the meat industry favors CO2 for convenience.
Regardless of the method used, animal rights advocates maintain that exploiting and killing animals for human consumption is inherently unethical.
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