Smithfield

In 2017, DxE investigators infiltrated a massive pig farm  in the Utah desert, a facility owned by Smithfield/WH Group, the world’s largest pig killing company. This one Smithfield farm is 20 miles long with over 300 barns on site. The investigators filmed the conditions inside in 360 degree virtual reality footage. Their footage, titled "Operation Deathstar," documented row after row of mother pigs crammed inside gestation crates barely bigger than their bodies and piles of dead piglets covered in their mothers' feces.

The investigators rescued 2 sick piglets, Lily, who had a severe leg injury, and Lizzie, who was malnourished and nursing on a shredded nipple. They took Lily and Lizzie to a sanctuary to receive care. Then, they published the whole investigation and rescue online and in the New York Times to show the world the nightmarish cruelty happening inside Smithfield’s farms.

The story went viral when the FBI started hunting for the piglets, raiding sanctuaries and even cutting off part of a pig’s ear to do DNA testing. Trial dates are set for Wayne and Paul in Washington County, Utah: October 3-7, 2022 (and we anticipate it could last into the following week). DxE is organizing a convergence in Utah during the trial to show support for animal rescue, build community with one another, and take action together to expose Smithfield’s Deathstar to the world. You can register at dxe.io/utahsignup.You can see the schedule and more info about DxE’s trial support convergence here.