Three major supermarkets have confirmed they have suspended supplies from a Lincolnshire farm over animal welfare concerns. Northmoor Farm in Market Rasen is one of the farms managed by Cranswick PLC, a food producer that supplies large supermarket chains like Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

However, an undercover investigator for the animal rights organisation Animal Justice Project spent several weeks capturing footage at the site, which houses around 6,000 pigs. The group claims the footage allegedly shows piglets being illegally killed using blunt force trauma, shot, severely abused and neglected.

The group also claims there were routine mutilations where piglets had their tails docked, teeth ground and were given iron injections within two days of being born, all without painkillers.

Responding to the findings, Cranswick said it had ordered an urgent investigation and had suspended the farm staff. A spokesman said: "The welfare of the animals we rear is of the utmost importance and we are extremely disappointed to see the unacceptable lapse of welfare standards captured at Northmoor Farm.

"As soon as we saw the footage we suspended the team working at the farm and we are conducting an urgent and thorough investigation. We have also suspended the farm from supplying any pigs until the investigation is completed."

The farm is approved by Red Tractor, a quality mark which is meant to ensure rigorous standards of animal welfare. This means supermarket shoppers buying bacon, sausages and ham which came from Northmoor will see the Red Tractor Union Jack stamp and the words 'Certified Pork' on the packaging – trusting that their meat has been humanely reared.

Red Tractor said it would immediately suspend the farm's certificate pending investigation. It is understood that a formal complaint has been made to Trading Standards, citing multiple breaches of Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (WATOK) and consumer law.

In March 2025, Sainsbury's had announced a ten year £60m deal to source all of its British pork through Cranswick PLC, which is also a long-standing major pork supplier to Tesco. However, these supermarkets have now suspended supplies from the Lincolnshire farm following the allegations.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We take all reports of poor animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all our suppliers to adhere to our high welfare standards. We were shocked to see this footage and have suspended the farm in question while a full investigation is carried out.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson says the company is also "urgently investigating." They said: “These allegations involve unacceptable treatment of animals, which has no place in our supply chain.

"We are urgently investigating this with Cranswick and in the meantime, all supply from this farm has been suspended." A Morrisons spokesperson added: "We care deeply about animal welfare and these are shocking and concerning allegations.

"We understand that Cranswick are investigating urgently and we have suspended supply from this farm until further notice."

Regarding the footage gathered by the group, Claire Palmer, founder of Animal Justice Project, said: "We will not be pulling any punches. This marks the start of a national, sustained campaign to expose the violent realities of pig farming in Britain.

"There must be an independent public inquiry into pig farming practices and regulatory failures. Ultimately, we’re calling for a legislative phase-out of pig farming in favour of a food system that no longer depends on animal suffering.”