DEFRA Admits CO2 Gas Stunning Causes Pigs Immense Suffering
- New independent report calls for CO2 stunning of pigs to be phased out
- Comprehensive study by DEFRA’s Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) highlights the “pain, respiratory distress and fear” pigs suffer
- Call for a ban comes decades after AWC predecessor first said the method was “not acceptable”
- Vegan campaigning charity Viva! says report proves humane slaughter is a myth
7 November 2025: In the UK, almost nine million pigs a year are CO2 gas stunned at slaughter – a method a damning new independent report has found causes “pain, respiratory distress and fear”.
The report, by DEFRA’s independent Animal Welfare Committee (AWC), has confirmed what Viva! – the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity – has known for decades: that there is no humane way to stun and slaughter these highly intelligent, sensitive animals.
Viva!’s Gasping for Life campaign directly addresses the suffering caused by CO2 stunning. Harrowing slaughterhouse footage shows pigs gasping for air, squealing and thrashing around as the gas forms an acidic layer on their eyes, nostrils, mouths and lungs, burning them from the inside out*.
Ben Freedman, campaigns manager at Viva!, said: “The AWC’s report makes for hugely upsetting reading because what these sensitive animals must endure during the slaughter process is truly horrifying, especially when you consider that it’s completely unnecessary.
“Viva!’s Gasping for Life campaign highlights not only the cruelty of gas stunning but also that there’s an alternative way for us all to eat and live – one that doesn’t involve lowering sentient beings into a gas mixture that causes them to thrash in agony as they fight for just one more breath. By adopting a vegan diet today, consumers no longer have to be complicit in this cruelty.”
Meat processors have pushed back on the findings of the distressing report, citing concerns that a ban could harm the sector’s “competitiveness” by slowing down operations. Viva! says such comments demonstrate that the pursuit of profit is the main driving factor in the widespread suffering of farmed animals. Pork producers have also voiced concerns that the alternative stunning methods suggested in the report still pose serious risks to pig welfare – supporting Viva!’s position that humane slaughter is a myth.
The AWC’s predecessor, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), said in 2003 that using high concentrations of CO2 to stun and kill pigs was “not acceptable” and that aversive gas mixtures should be phased out within five years. That was 22 years ago – yet millions of pigs continue to suffer this fate every year.
“The time for action on this issue is long overdue,” added Freedman. “It is shocking that farmers, meat processors and policymakers have been aware of this serious animal welfare problem for so long yet have done nothing to end it. This cannot be allowed to continue. The UK prides itself on being a civilised nation, but it is knowingly subjecting millions of animals to suffering every year.”
* CO2 gas is known to be aversive to pigs and causes an acutely painful burning sensation alongside feelings of breathlessness and panic.
ENDS
Notes
- Viva! is a registered charity (number 1037486) and the UK’s leading vegan campaigning organisation
- To read the Animal Welfare Committee’s report Opinion on the welfare impacts on pigs of high concentration CO2 gas stunning and of potential alternative stunning methods, visit here – gov.uk/government/publications/opinion-on-carbon-dioxide-gas-stunning-of-pigs-and-alternative-methods/opinion-on-the-welfare-impacts-on-pigs-of-high-concentration-co2-gas-stunning-and-of-potential-alternative-stunning-methods
- To find out more about Viva!’s Gasping for Life campaign, visit here – viva.org.uk/animals/campaigns/gasping-for-life/
- For assets and further information, contact Rachael Simpson-Jones, PR manager at Viva! – rachael@viva.org.uk
