While Jamie Oliver, pictured, is busy denouncing substandard foreign pig farms and urging consumers instead to buy British, Animal Aid conducted an eight-month investigation into some of the leading pig farm operators in this country.

Among the scenes we filmed were pregnant and nursing sows incarcerated in farrowing crates; dead, sick and dying piglets littering the pens; animals wading through filth or living in utterly barren environments; a lack of bedding; a lack of environmental enrichment, despite the law stating that this must be provided; "culled sows" dumped in the dirt outside; and wheelie bins full of dead piglets.

While many other countries have similar or even worse standards, our investigation has found that welfare on British pig farms is nothing to boast about.

In fact, if people took a look at the film and photographs from our investigation, we believe they would be shocked to their core.

Suffering is suffering, no matter which country it occurs in.

And there is no doubt that pigs in British farms suffer terribly.

See our website at www.animalaid.org.uk for full details of the investigation.

Kate Fowler

Head of Campaigns

Animal Aid