Cows stabbed and beaten at M&S supplier’s farm
Dairy facility highlighted in shop’s advert as ‘having a connection with animals’ exposed in cruelty video
COWS are being beaten at a flagship farm used in Marks & Spencer adverts, undercover footage shows.
An investigation at Charlie Langmead’s dairy farm even found an instance of an employee appearing to stab a cow with a sharp object.
Joey Carbstrong, a gang member turned animal rights activist, published footage from secret cameras placed at the property, which has been an RSPCA “Assured” facility since 2022.
It shows workers smacking calves in the face, kicking cows, hitting the animals on the back with a metal floor scraper and calling them “f---ing c---s”.
An employee is also seen calling one of the animals “f---ing retarded” before lunging at it with a small metal object and stabbing it in the hind leg. Another clip shows a worker shouting “f---ing bitch” before chasing a panicked cow.
Mr Carbstrong, who went vegan in 2013, said M&S had previously used the farm in its advertising.
A promotional interview with Mr Langmead is included in the M&S exposé video, in which the farmer says: “All farmers and all M&S dairy farmers have a real connection with their animals. Dairy farmers will be with their animals every single day.” Responding to the footage on social media, M&S described the behaviour as falling “well below the standards rightly expected” of the supermarket, and confirmed it had suspended the farm from its supply chain.
Deborah Meaden, a businesswoman and ambassador for the charity World Animal Protection, said: “We don’t deserve this planet and [the animals] don’t deserve this cruelty and M&S need to be better or they don’t deserve our custom.”
A spokesman for M&S responded to Ms Meaden on X, saying: “You are absolutely right; this footage is completely unacceptable, and the treatment of the animals is a disgrace.
“As soon as we found out about this, we immediately removed this farm from our supply chain and have launched a full investigation with the RSPCA, which independently assures our farm standards.
“We care deeply about animal welfare and are doing everything possible to ensure behaviour like this is never repeated.”
However, Mr Carbstrong said: “Our latest investigation exposes the facade behind the RSPCA’S Assured label, which is meaningless in protecting animals. The dairy industry views sentient animals as machines to be exploited until exhaustion for profit, then slaughtered.
“It’s no wonder these sensitive, curious beings are also systematically abused when the workers think no one is watching.”
An RSPCA Assured spokesman said: “We have suspended the farm’s RSPCA Assured membership, pending further investigation, for completely unacceptable behaviour that falls significantly below the high standards we demand of RSPCA Assured members. We are treating this incident with the utmost seriousness.”
They said the footage had been reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency, adding: “Animal welfare is our absolute priority and we always take any complaints of poor welfare extremely seriously.”
Mr Langmead was contacted for comment.