Juliet, founder of Viva!, and her son Jazz expose factory farming – and ask…
Will you join us to help end it?
Juliet:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for answering our last call for help. Your support gave us the means to carry out new investigations, the beating heart of Viva!’s work. Already, we’ve entered three factory farms and uncovered the truth they try so hard to hide.
One was a sprawling mega pig farm. This time, my son came with me; it was his first ever investigation. I watched him take in the sights, the sounds, the suffering. To see factory farming through the eyes of a 23-year-old, who cares so much for animals, was devastating. His shock, his grief, his anger mirrored what so many people feel when they realise what is done to animals every single day.
I wanted to share his experience with you because I believe you feel that same compassion. And I want to give you the chance to join us once more – to help end this vile industry and the endless pain it causes. Together, we can turn heartbreak into action and suffering into freedom.
When Jazz told me he wanted to join me on my latest investigation, my heart sank a little. I understood his determination, he wanted to see with his own eyes what really happens inside Britain’s pig farms, but as a mum, my first instinct was to protect him.
No parent wants their child to carry the burden of such sights. I thought of all the farms I had investigated over the years: animals suffering in silence, cruelty hidden by the massive industry. I had shouldered that pain, but did I really want him to?
I told him the truth — that it would be hard, that once you step inside a place like this, you don’t come out the same. These aren’t images you can simply erase. They stay with you. They follow you into your sleep.
Jazz pointing at sanctuary piggies. He’s always loved animals and knowing this makes his first investigation of cruelty ever more poignant for me.
But Jazz stood firm. He’s young, yes, but he has always had a strong sense of compassion, a fire for justice that I admire. His mind was set: he needed to see the truth for himself, no matter how heavy it might be.
As we walked together across the fields towards the looming sheds, my emotions churned. Pride that my son cared enough to face this reality. Fear for how it might affect him. Sadness that this was the world he was growing into – a world where cruelty to animals is not the exception, but the norm.
Every step felt weighted. I glanced at Jazz and saw the determination etched on his face and I realised there was no turning back. For better or worse, this was a journey we would take together.
Jazz:
As we crept through the damp, dark field towards the factory farm I felt nervous – for the safety of my mum and nervous for what I’d find inside.
At the farm’s edge, my chest tightened. Manure silos rose first; farther in, vast industrial sheds loomed. We waited silent, endless minutes until the path was clear. The sheds were tall and ominous. Grief washed over me at what this place was for.
The air was different here. A sharp, acrid stench clung to the back of my throat and made it hard to breathe. It wasn’t the smell of life but of filth and confinement. The closer we walked, the stronger it became, it was impossible to ignore.
I was tempted to stop myself stepping foot inside, but I had to see, I just had to.
I pulled a door open.
Inside, the light dimmed, and for a moment all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. Then it hit me – the harsh clanking of mothers shifting in their cramped pens, the buzzing of flies and beneath it all the unsettling silence of suffering.
The first sight that met me was a mother sow, her sad, pleading eyes met mine. Her skin was scraped and cut; hind legs in her own urine, nowhere to go. She looked utterly beaten. Right beside her, piglets fizzed with life, snuffling my fingers, bright and fearless. Outside, a field lay in view yet out of reach. They will never feel grass underfoot or root through the woods.
The next shed we entered was dark and heavy with cobwebs. Rows of ominous cages stretched before me. It felt like some kind of medieval torture chamber. Within the industry, these cages are chillingly referred to as ‘rape racks’.
I dug into what that really means. How often does the British public stop to think about how female animals are forced into pregnancy? On most pig farms – where the workforce is largely male – workers clean the sow’s vulva, glove up and lubricate a catheter. Sometimes they strap a ‘sow buddy’ or even a sandbag onto her back to imitate the weight of a boar and keep her pinned still. Then a spiral or foam-tipped catheter is pushed into her cervix..
The reality made me feel sick. Animals reduced to objects – reproductive machines to churn out profit.
The sows in front of me looked broken. Their eyes seemed to stare straight through me, vacant yet seared into my mind.
A small amount of love in a dark place.
Intelligent, gentle beings – capable of joy, affection and play – slowly driven insane, their ability to give life twisted into something mechanical, vile and cruel. Stripped of personality, stripped of freedom, they were reduced to numbers. No spark remained, no hope, only the bleak certainty that this was all they would ever know.
Next, we entered the so-called ‘fattening shed.’ Here, piglets are torn from their mothers at just three to four weeks old, far too young, and forcibly weaned. From that moment on, their only purpose is to grow as fast as possible until they are killed, usually by being suffocated to death by gassing, at around six months of age.
The piglets I saw were about three months old. Despite the early hour, they were alert and curious, pressing forward to see me. Yet their world was nothing but narrow cells and wooden slats. They had absolutely nothing to do. In one pen, a single plastic ball rolled idly in the corner; token “enrichment” to satisfy the bare minimum of legal requirements.
As we left the farm, the images seared themselves into my mind: horror, betrayal, death. The cold and brutal reality of what is done to produce meat could not be erased. And yet, I felt a surge of determination. If we fight to show the world this cruelty, people will listen. Every day, more people are choosing vegan. We will never stop until everyone knows the truth and until every single animal is free.
Juliet:
When I heard my son’s words, my heart shattered and yet it soared. No mother ever wants her child to witness such horror and cruelty. But he did. And instead of giving in to despair, he found yet more determination.
Now we need you to stand with us. Together, we can launch Viva!’s next major campaign – bringing our findings out of the shadows and into the public eye.
We have the name. We have the message. The investigations are underway. The ideas are ready. All that’s missing is you.
You can help animals break free. With your help, Viva! will…
Launch a bold new campaign – fronted by a character I know you’ll love! Powered by Jazz’s first investigation and others carried out by brave investigators—funded entirely by caring people like you.
Take to the road with a national tour – celebrating farmed animals while exposing the hidden reality of their lives. We’ll bring together our incredible outreach volunteers from across the UK for unforgettable, eye-opening events.
Expose the pig industry – our latest investigation into one of the biggest players is ready to hit the headlines and challenge the nation.
Light up the big screen – with your support, our Dairy is Scary film reached one million cinemagoers before the industry forced it off screens. Now, we’re preparing something even more powerful: an ad featuring an irresistible piglet. This time it’s already approved to stop censors silencing the truth – aimed squarely at young adults in their 20s.
I felt deep grief that Jazz must carry the images of animal suffering. Yet I also felt immense pride that his response was not despair, but compassion and courage.
As mum, part of me longs to shield him but I know the world needs his, and his generation’s voice: clear, strong, unshakeable.
His generation is rising. Every day, more people are choosing vegan, choosing kindness. Already, nine million adults in the UK eat no meat. That gives me hope. Together, we can end this cruelty once and for all. Together, we can build a future where no animal suffers like this again.
Right now, somewhere near you, pigs are suffering in the same awful conditions Jazz exposed. But together we can change that.
Please send a donation to Viva! today. Whatever you can give will be gratefully received – and used to help us end the shame of factory farming.
Yours for the animals
Juliet Gellatley
Founder & Director
