A pig farmer in the Netherlands who appeared in an animal welfare campaign has been secretly filmed killing newborn piglets by hitting their heads against a metal fence.
The footage is part of a new investigation into farms carrying the Netherlands’ Beter Leven, or Better Life, animal welfare label.
The farmer, Loes van de Pas, runs Fokbedrijf Den Tip in Bergeijk, the Netherlands. In late 2025, she appeared in a paid newspaper article promoting the Beter Leven label. A photograph showed her smiling while holding a piglet in her arms.
But hidden cameras placed by animal investigation group Ongehoord show a very different picture. In the video, Van de Pas and her workers are repeatedly seen killing weak, sick or small piglets by holding them by their back legs and hitting their heads against a metal fence. Some piglets survived the first blow and were hit again.
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“Oh shit, the brains are falling out”
During one of the incidents, a worker is heard saying, “Oh shit, the brains are falling out,” after a newborn piglet’s head was hit against a metal fence.
The investigation also shows mother pigs kept in narrow metal cages for more than a month. They cannot turn around, walk freely or build nests for their babies.
Workers were filmed lifting newborn piglets by their back legs, sometimes carrying three at once. The footage also shows mother pigs biting the metal bars of their cages, which can be a sign of stress and frustration.
According to Ongehoord, Den Tip has around 300 mother pigs, 1,000 weaned piglets and 2,500 pigs raised for meat. The farm has a one-star Beter Leven certificate.
Five farms investigated across the Netherlands
The footage from Den Tip is part of a wider investigation published by Ongehoord on Tuesday. The group investigated five pig farms connected to the Better Life animal welfare label. Four had one star, while one had three stars.
At other farms, investigators recorded workers kicking pigs, pulling their tails and giving them electric shocks. They also filmed pigs with serious injuries caused by other pigs biting their tails.
At a three-star Livar farm, investigators found pigs with badly injured tails despite having more space and access to outdoor areas.
The investigation raises questions about the difference between the conditions shown in animal welfare advertising and the daily lives of pigs on these farms.
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What does the Better Life label promise?
The Better Life label was created by Dutch animal welfare organisation Dierenbescherming in 2007. It gives meat and other animal products one, two or three stars, depending on the farming conditions.
The organisation says animals under the label often have more space, more things to play with and more opportunities to show natural behaviour than animals on farms without the label.
However, Ongehoord says its footage shows that many serious welfare problems remain, even on certified Better Life farms.
Animal welfare labels may encourage meat consumption
A study published in May 2026 by researchers at Wageningen University & Research found that positive animal welfare labels may make people feel more comfortable buying meat.
In an online experiment, people chose 10% less meat when they saw a label showing poor animal welfare instead of a positive label. The researchers warn that labels showing better farming conditions may also make eating meat seem more acceptable.
Dutch investigative TV programme confronts pig farmer
The investigation also received attention from BOOS, a Dutch investigative journalism programme presented by Tim Hofman. The programme, which is published on YouTube and by Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA, independently examined the footage collected by Ongehoord. BOOS showed conditions at four pig farms and spoke to animal welfare experts.
Hofman also visited Loes van de Pas at her farm in Bergeijk to ask about the killing of newborn piglets. Van de Pas refused to discuss the footage, asked the journalists to leave and called the police.
BOOS also interviewed representatives of Dierenbescherming and the Beter Leven label. They acknowledged serious problems in the footage and said the farms would face additional inspections. They also promised to review the rules for killing piglets.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theanimalreader.com
