Several grocers, including Kroger Co., said on Thursday that they would temporarily suspend business with an Iowa farm after a video exposed possible animal abuse.
Hidden camera video was taken at an Iowa Select Farms facility, one of the largest pork producers in the U.S. and a supplier to many grocery stores, including Cincinnati-based Kroger.
An animal rights worker from Mercy for Animals was hired at the farm and took the video, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.
SLIDESHOW: Hidden Camera Images (Some might find images disturbing)
"We feel that consumers have a right to know how animals are raised on modern farms and the animals have a right to have their stories told," said Matt Rice, with Mercy for Animals.
Ohio's state Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey watched the video that contained images of pigs being tossed around, crudely castrated and slammed into floors. Their tails were clipped and some were confined to gestational stalls where they barely fit inside.
Forshey said that some of the practices seen in the video were valid but inhumane.
"Like any industry, there are bad veterinarians, there are bad news reporters, there's bad everything in ever industry you have," Forshey said. "That is certainly not reflective of what we do and what we do on Ohio farms."
Ohio is the first U.S. state to adopt a livestock care standards board, Hirsch reported.
"All of our standards are based upon the welfare and well-being of livestock and poultry anyplace, anytime, anywhere," Forshey said.
Iowa Select Farms told 10TV News that an investigation into what was seen on the video is under way.
Mercy for Animals is a national nonprofit group that was formed in 1999. In May 2010, the group released video of a Union County farm worker who repeatedly beat cows.
The employee was charged with animal cruelty but the farm's owner was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for additional information.
