Animal Justice Project brought its nationwide Turn Off The Gas campaign to the North of England yesterday, visiting key locations connected to the pig industry as part of a high-profile tour backed by actor Peter Egan and cross-party MPs. The campaign is calling on the Government to deliver its long-promised consultation on ending carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas slaughter for pigs and to consider phasing out the use of gas chambers altogether.
In December 2025 the Government’s Animal Welfare Committee ruled CO₂ slaughter should be stopped as it causes avoidable pain, fear and respiratory distress before animals lose consciousness – yet no consultation has been launched, with no timetable in sight, and Animal Justice Project says pigs are continuing to needlessly suffer.
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The animal advocacy organisation travelled to Cranswick’s headquarters in Hessle – home to the UK’s largest pork producer – with its giant mobile pig gas chamber installation. Campaigners attempted to present CEO Adam Couch with an “Outstanding Achievement Award” for “his contribution to misleading the public and helping keep Britain’s gas chambers out of sight”, along with a “Last Breath Canister” symbolising the suffering pigs’ experience during gas slaughter. Cranswick declined to meet with campaigners or accept the items.
Campaigners also visited Cranswick’s Preston abattoir, where around 35,000 pigs are currently killed each week. The site is expected to expand, increasing its capacity to up to 50,000 pigs a week.
“Turn off the Gas” has toured other key locations connected to Britain’s pig industry, and earlier this week disrupted the Royal Norfolk Show when activists entered the Grand Ring holding signs saying ‘Stop Gassing Pigs to Death.’ The tour also visited abattoirs in Norfolk and Spalding – where pigs continued to be transported in temperatures of more than 30 degrees, with many showing signs of heat stress including panting and foaming at the mouth.
The campaign group’s tanker was stopped by police when leaving Norfolk and banned from entering Spalding.
On Monday, the tour visited Defra’s headquarters in Westminster, alongside actor and animal advocate Peter Egan, as well as Sainsbury’s HQ. Animal Justice Project is calling on Sainsbury’s – which has signed a ten-year partnership with Cranswick – to support mandatory slaughter-method labelling so consumers know own-brand ‘pork’ products come from pigs who were gassed to death.
Approximately 10.4 million pigs are slaughtered in the UK each year, with around 90% killed using carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas systems, according to Defra and industry figures.
More than twenty years after Government advisers first recommended phasing out aversive gas systems for pigs, ministers have committed to consulting on the future of CO2 pig gassing. Animal Justice Project says the consultation must now be delivered within this Parliament and before the next General Election, not left for a future Government to decide.
However, there are concerns that the consultation will simply seek to replace the use of CO₂ with argon – which some scientists and advisory bodies consider to provide welfare improvements compared with high-concentration CO₂.
While argon is generally regarded as less aversive than carbon dioxide, pigs remain conscious during the induction phase and may still experience distress, loss of coordination, intensive convulsions and oxygen deprivation before losing consciousness. Animal welfare experts have noted that pigs still die from brain hypoxia when argon slaughter is used, and air hunger and gasping may still be evident, as with CO2.
Animal Justice Project believes that rather than simply replacing CO₂ with a different inert gas, the public deserves a broader conversation around the slaughter of pigs. The organisation also says the public is largely unaware of the issue despite its scale.
Several MPs have provided their support for calls to end carbon dioxide slaughter, across parties including Labour, Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and several independent MPs. North of England MPs Tom Morrison, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheadle and Iqbal Mohamed MP, independent candidate for Dewsbury and Batley in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Mohamed comments: “The fact that only a small minority of the public know how most pigs are killed in Britain raises important questions about transparency and accountability within our food system. As ministers prepare to make decisions about the future of pig slaughter, it is vital that the public is fully informed about the practices currently being used and has confidence that animal welfare concerns are being taken seriously. Greater scrutiny, openness and less cruel farming practices are essential.”
New YouGov polling of 2,140 British adults commissioned by Animal Justice Project in May 2026 found:
– Only 12% of people correctly identified CO₂ gas as the primary method used to kill pigs in the UK.
– 88% were unable to identify the most common slaughter method.
– 75% said they know little or nothing about how pigs are slaughtered.
– Respondents were significantly more likely to regard CO₂ gas slaughter as unacceptable than acceptable once informed about the practice.
Animal Justice Project is calling on Defra to publish a timetable for its promised consultation, launch it before the end of 2026, and ensure it examines whether gas chamber systems themselves should continue to be used, rather than simply considering alternative gases.
“Most people have no idea that pigs are routinely killed in gas chambers in Britain,” said Claire Palmer, Director of Animal Justice Project. “The Government is preparing to make decisions about the future of pig slaughter, yet most people don’t even know these systems exist.
“For more than twenty years, scientists, animal welfare organisations and government advisers have raised serious concerns about gas chambers. The question now isn’t simply what should replace CO₂, it’s whether gas chambers themselves should continue to be used at all. Different gas, same chamber.
“If people are disturbed by the reality of pigs being gassed to death, the most powerful response is to choose plant-based foods, while supporting farmers to transition away from animal agriculture.”
Pig veterinarian, Dr Alice Brough, comments: “As a pig vet, I am deeply concerned by the continued use of gas chambers to kill pigs. The Cranswick abattoir in Watton was the first I visited during my career as a vet, and what I witnessed there was truly shocking. These animals are herded into metal cages and lowered into dark chambers where they are exposed to the gases until they lose consciousness – which can take more than a minute of intense suffering. It is a frightening and distressing process for highly intelligent, sensitive animals. While much of the debate focuses on replacing CO₂ with argon, that misses the bigger issue; changing the gas does not change the fact that pigs are still being forced into gas chambers and suffocating in fear.”
Actor and animal activist, Peter Egan, said: “I’m not surprised that most people don’t know pigs are killed in gas chambers. The industry doesn’t talk about it, retailers don’t tell consumers, and most people have no idea what happens behind slaughterhouse walls. We shouldn’t be debating how to make gas chambers more acceptable by changing the gas. We should be questioning why we’re using them at all. And ultimately, if we want to spare pigs from suffering, the most humane choice is not to eat them in the first place.”