Undercover investigation in the Spanish Pig Industry

UNDERCOVER: shocking images of the spanish pig industry

FACTORY is released; an undercover investigation carried out on 32 pig farms located in Spain, the country with the biggest swine population in the EU.

The investigation has been conducted by Aitor Garmendia, award-winning photojournalist thanks to his investigations in farms and slaughterhouses. His work has been awarded three years in a row with the Pictures of the Year International, including the photography series that at the beginning of this year preceded this investigation.

During 2019 and 2020 Aitor Garmendia has entered, together with an investigation team formed by people who had chosen to remain anonymous, 32 pig farms.

In them he has documented multiple irregularities and took images of the critical conditions in which animals were left: pigs with mobility problems; open wounds, some with necrotic tissues; purulent drainage; fighting related injuries; tail-biting, and events of cannibalism; swellings of great size, such as abscesses or hernias, rectal prolapses; and pigs in their death throes being dismissed in corners and corridors until they die.

The investigation, which highlights the lack of veterinary care and the complicity of the institutions, provides photographic and video evidences showing a blatant breach of animal welfare regulations.

• REPORT (an extensive essay on the pig industry using its own documents and data as an information source)
• HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES
• VIDEO REPORT (20 min)