HSUS Files Seaboard Complaint

Roughly two months after revealing inhumane treatment of pigs at a facility of Seaboard Foods, the Humane Society of the United States has filed a formal complaint against the pork producer—the country’s third-largest—with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. HSUS alleges that Seaboard made false claims and declined to communicate adequately with the animal-welfare organization, which is a shareholder of the company. Last September, HSUS filed a proposal urging the pork producer to gradually discontinue the use of gestation crates for its sows and received a response claiming that the producer’s animal-care policies were “cruelty-free,” a statement which HSUS argues is deceptive.