Cranswick Plc (LSE:CWK) saw its stock drop over 2% on Monday following fresh allegations of animal mistreatment at one of its facilities.
The U.K.-based food producer described itself as “horrified” by undercover footage depicting pig abuse at its Somerby Top farm, noting that the recordings were made several months ago but only recently came to light.
Earlier in May, similar videos emerged from the company’s North Moor Farm site, which Cranswick said were also “historic.”
The company confirmed that staff implicated in the incidents have since departed and that management adjustments have been implemented at North Moor. In addition, the group has updated its euthanasia policies, banning the use of manual blunt force trauma—commonly referred to as “piglet thumping”—and has begun deploying AI-driven CCTV across its farms to monitor operations.
“While this news is clearly disappointing, CWK does not believe the footage is reflective of current farm standards, and has already taken meaningful steps to ensure this does not repeat,” noted analysts at Jefferies in a client briefing.
The brokerage added: “We note that both farms involved were acquired in 2023, and there have already been mgmt changes at the former.”
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