Shocking hidden camera footage of two UK turkey farms has revealed sickening conditions in rearing sheds and ineffective stunning prior to slaughter. Our latest campaign film, The Nightmare Before Christmas features footage from independent Essex producer Grove Smith Turkeys from November 2018; and Catfoss Farm in East Yorkshire from October 2019, a farm operated by Avara Foods. The Nightmare Before Christmas is narrated by vegan actress and activist Evanna Lynch.

While both farms are shown to have raised turkeys in equally terrible conditions, the footage from Grove Smith Turkeys reveals disturbing incidents during slaughter and processing. In instances where gas stunning was shown to be ineffective, turkeys had their throats cut whilst still flapping their wings. In other scenes, turkeys were forced into traffic cones where they then bled to death. Further HD footage from visits to Grove Smith Turkeys by investigators shows body parts left on the kill room floor or still hanging on machinery.

Grove Smith Farms was the subject of a separate exposé from Animal Equality released in December 2018 where turkeys were seen to be cannibalising one another, which prompted national press coverage and investigations by the RSPCA, APHA and Essex Trading Standards, as well as the suspension of orders from one of their main customers. The footage supplied to Surge, which features in The Nightmare Before Christmas, was from the same time - it is not known whether Grove Smith Turkeys has changed the way it rears turkeys in the time since, or whether the footage is representational of how they operate today.

Avara Foods is a joint venture by Faccenda Group and Cargill, and is known to operate a number of farms across the UK rearing different animals for human consumption. In November 2018, Surge revealed disgraceful conditions in sheds at an Avara-operated facility in Sudbrooke, Lincolnshire, which resulted in national press coverage. At the time, Avara was reported to supply Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.

The footage from Catfoss Farm has been sent to the RSPCA, APHA and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Grove Smith Turkeys was investigated by the authorities following the Animal Equality exposé.