We, the undersigned, demand that the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) immediately ban the use of CO₂ gas chambers to kill pigs in UK slaughterhouses.
For decades, the government’s own Animal Welfare Committee has warned that killing pigs with CO₂ gas causes extreme suffering. In 2003, it stated that CO₂ killing is “not acceptable” and should be phased out within five years. Instead, it has become the norm, and 90% of pigs in the UK are now killed this way.
The meat industry calls this “humane slaughter”. It is nothing of the sort. CO₂ gas chambers exist because factory farming needed a cheap, fast way to kill millions of animals. Pigs are forced into chambers, and CO₂ is pumped in until they slowly suffocate. They gasp for air, panic, and writhe in pain as the gas burns their lungs. It can take several terrifying minutes for them to die.
This suffering is well known, long documented, and entirely avoidable. DEFRA has failed to act while millions of pigs endure horrific deaths behind closed doors.
We demand an immediate ban on CO₂ gas chambers for pigs in the UK.
#DontBuyIt #EndFactoryFarming