SPRINGDALE, Ark. – A Tyson subsidiary has stopped buying hogs from Wyoming Premium Farms, the most recent subject of an undercover video investigation conducted by the Humane Society of the United States according to a report from the Arkansas News.

The HSUS released video depicting workers kicking piglets, swinging piglets by their hind legs and hitting and kicking sows, among other abuses. The organization said it notified local authorities with the Platte County Sheriff’s Office, which has turned over its information to investigators with the Wyoming Livestock Board, according to the Arkansas News. The Wyoming Livestock Board will then give its report to the Platte County prosecutor who will decide what charges, if any, should be filed.

Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman said the company is also reviewing the use of gestation crates and group housing for sows, according to the Arkansas News. There are benefits and drawbacks of both housing methods, and Tyson sources hogs from suppliers that use both crates and group housing.
“Virtually all of the hogs Tyson buys for our processing plants come from thousands of independent farm families who use both individual and group housing,” said in a statement. “We require all hog farmers who supply us to be certified in the pork industry’s Pork Quality Assurance Plus program, which incorporates rigid animal well-being standards and is part of the industry’s ‘We Care’ responsible pork initiative.

“We validate enrollment and audit conformance to these standards. Farms that do not conform will be eliminated from our supply chain.”