WASHINGTON – An undercover video shot at an Iowa farm shows workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about abusing the pigs.

The Associated Press received a video which shows a supervisor telling an undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that when he gets angry or a sow won’t move, “I grab one of these rods and jam it in her (anus)."

The farm, located outside of Bayard, Iowa, about 60 miles west of Des Moines, is a supplier to Hormel Foods of Austin, Minn. PETA reportedly wants to use the results of the investigation to pressure Hormel to demand that its suppliers ensure humane treatment of pigs.

Hormel spokeswoman Julie Henderson Craven on Tuesday called the abuses "completely unacceptable."

The animal rights group also planned to send the video to the sheriff in Greene County, Iowa, seeking prosecution of 18 people on animal cruelty violations. According to PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich, the video shows eight people directly abusing animals.

Records at the Greene County, Iowa Assessor's Office show the property was owned by Natural Pork Production II LLP of Iowa until Aug. 18, and then was transferred to MowMar LLP of Fairmont, Minn.

Craven said the farm became a Hormel supplier only after the change in ownership, and that MowMar "shares our commitment to animal welfare and humane handling."

Source: Associated Press