CONVICTED (2022) | pig farmers Alan Elvidge, born August 1978, of Flat House Farm, Peatling Parva Road, Gilmorton, Lutterworth LE17 5NR and Rachel Elvidge, born April 1970, of Parsons Barn Farm, Ullesthorpe Road, Gilmorton, Lutterworth LE17 5PD
Siblings Alan and Rachel Elvidge, co-directors of Elvidge Farms Limited, pleaded guilty to breaching the Animal Welfare Act and were fined £4,500..
The case against the pair was brought by Leicestershire Trading Standards over the care of pigs at Flat House Farm in Gilmorton, near Lutterworth, which was reportedly operated by their late father, Richard Elvidge, alone.
The pair were prosecuted following inspections at the farm in September 2020. All but one of the original 66 charges were dropped after Richard Elvidge died, however. The court heard that he had been the only operative at the farm during the time of the investigation.
In 2020, Flat House Farm, which was home to around 8,000 pigs and 800 breeding sows,, was the subject of an undercover investigation by animal rights group Viva! Campaigns. The animal welfare group released footage showing “barbaric conditions” at the farm.
Over a four month period, the campaigners placed hidden cameras in sheds at the farm whose meat carried the Red Tractor logo – assuring consumers it is “traceable, safe to eat and has been produced responsibly”..
During the investigation Viva! unearthed a catalogue of neglect and abuse, including “sick and dying animals left to suffer” and “rotting corpses and emaciated pigs”.
Viva! has also claimed that some allegedly neglected animals even resorted to cannibalism.
Feral cats are seen on the footage feeding on “weak and dead” piglets, and workers can be seen apparently “aggressively abusing” animals.
A spokeswoman for the campaign group said: “The team discovered animals had a range of serious ailments causing acute pain – including bleeding hernias, deformed trotters, prolapses, rectal strictures and pot bellies.
“Other animals were covered in lacerations and grotesque bites, injuries inflicted on them by other pigs who are driven to insanity by the barren environment.
“Our director filmed young animals left to die in cells, writhing in pain with their eyes rolling in their socket.”
She added: “Across the farm dead and dying animals had been pulled into the walkways and left to rot – a serious violation of the Government’s guidance on how to handle fallen stock.
“There were jaw bones and bodies piled up left in various locations across the site, which goes against Government guidelines.
“One particularly sick animal, who was severely bloated, had been left in the walkway, with no access to food or water, other than that that was dripping down the walls during a rainy evening.
“This is in clear breach of UK government guidelines.”
Viva! said evidence of biting among the pigs was widespread on the farm, with alleged acute malnutrition indicating a “lack of adequate veterinary care” and “unnecessary suffering” for the animals.
The spokeswoman said: “One of the most distressing scenes shows a farm worker ‘knocking’ young piglets – killing them by slamming their tiny heads onto the metal bars of their mother’s metal cage – a brutally cruel act.
“Dismembered body parts were found on every visit, as well as numerous dead piglets alongside confined sows. Hidden camera footage from the crates captured cats picking off sick piglets, eating them alive and dragging their limp bodies into the walkways to feast.
“These practices are in complete violation of the Government’s guidance on how to handle ‘fallen stock’.”
Juliet Gellatley, Viva!’s founder and director, claimed the treatment of animals at the farm was “appalling”.
Viva! subsequently submitted the footage to the RSPCA, Leicestershire County Council Trading Standards, and Red Tractor.
The farm was then placed under investigation by Trading Standards, with Red Tractor also removing Elvidge Farms Ltd from its scheme and launching its own investigation.
Ultimately Viva!’s footage played no part in the court proceedings, which representatives of the charity said was “the perfect example that the law just doesn’t exist to protect farm animals”.
Another representative added: “I was horrified and I’ve been working with animals for a long, long time and you do get used to it.
“The horrors at that pig farm stayed with me for a long, long time.”
Sentencing, District Judge Nicholas Watson told the court the case had started with a large number of wide ranging charges against the company, Elvidge Farms Ltd.
These include:
- Pigs being kept in unsuitable conditions
- Too high a density of animals in areas
- Dark and dirty conditions as well as insufficient water and stimulus
He said the charges suggested the problems had been long standing but that these had been discontinued at Crown Court because the prosecution had either failed to provide enough evidence or it was no longer in the public interest.
He sentenced Elvidge Farms Ltd to pay a £4,500 fine, along with a maximum surcharge of £181 within three months. A 10% discount was awarded due to the company’s guilty plea. As it was Elvidge Farms Ltd that pleaded guilty – and a company cannot go to prison or be disqualified from rearing animals – no jail time or community service was given.
The court heard that Elvidge Farms Ltd had once enjoyed an annual turnover of £1 million, but now no longer trade as a pig farm business as they have no money.
The siblings left court today by a back entrance to avoid reporters,
The Elvidges have been told they have three months to pay the fine.
