A WESTBURY woman embarked on a campaign last week, saying she wants to raise awareness about “the low animal welfare standards of a pig farm that supplies meat to national supermarket Tesco.”
As part of a nationwide campaign organised by vegan charity ‘Viva!’, local woman Kathryn Scarlett demonstrated outside Tesco in Trowbridge and Tesco Express in Westbury, handing out leaflets about the Hogwood pig farm in Warwickshire, which ‘Viva!’ claims is neglecting and abusing their pigs.
“I’m not doing this because I don’t eat meat, but because I care passionately for animal welfare,” explained Kathryn.
Currently a full-time carer for her mother, it’s been a while since Kathryn has taken direct action for a cause she believes in. “I’m shocked, surprised and delighted to be back in action,” she said. “It’s nice to get up and do something. If I feel strongly about a subject then I should do something about it, even if I am getting on a bit!”
“I haven’t done anything like this for nearly 30 years. I was part of the demonstration in London to stop the poll tax and also took part in a CND rally against the use of nuclear weapons.”
On the day, Kathryn was joined by two other supporters of the cause. “We were met with shock and sorrow. Many people were happy to take a leaflet and sign the petition and talk to us about animal abuse in general.”
“We did overhear a woman proudly say on her way back to her car, ‘I decided not to have the bacon I picked and told the cashier that I did not want anything from that farm ever again,’ Result!
“I think we reached more people’s hearts by just being nice and quiet outside Tesco, respecting the fact that we were on their property.
“It was a brilliant success and I feel like I have really achieved something. We are much closer to getting Hogwood Farm closed for good.”
A spokesperson for Tesco said, “We take animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all our producers to meet recognised farm assurance standards, including Red Tractor certification, as well as our own stringent, industry leading requirements.
“Any claims that our standards have not been met are always fully investigated.
“Our dedicated agriculture team, Red Tractor and the Animal & Plant Health Agency visit farms regularly and have all independently inspected the Hogwood farm to ensure that we are all satisfied with the conditions, and the animals are treated well.”
