Death on a factory farm

A year ago, we were sickened by animal-cruelty allegations at the Hallmark/Westland meatpacking plant in Chino, Calif. Now, another undercover expose has occurred at an Ohio hog farm — and will be shown to viewers of Home Box Office repeatedly in March.

An 87-minute documentary titled, “Death on a Factory Farm,” will air on HBO beginning March 16.

The film originated with a group known as the Humane Farming Association. HFA turned to a young man named “Pete” who makes his living doing undercover investigations of suspected animal cruelty. Pete obtained a job at the farm, and the film shows his investigation over the course of six weeks, during which time he used a hidden camera to document numerous disturbing scenes: piglets being hurled across a room into a crate where they crash into each other or onto the floor; an unhealthy piglet being taken by the feet and slammed against a wall to euthanize it; impregnated sows crammed into pens that don’t allow them to move for up to 116 days, and finally, a sick hog being hung from a forklift by a chain, where it is seen convulsing for five minutes, according to a public-relations representative for the documentary.   

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