In September 2021, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against Holden Farms that has been under seal while the Department of Justice (DOJ) reviewed the case.
An undercover investigation conducted by Animal Outlook of a Holden Farms pig breeding facility in Utica, Minnesota exposed employees alleged criminal conduct, including feeding dead piglet intestines and bodily fluids blended into a ‘slurry’ with pig feces to mother pigs — a practice the animal agriculture industry calls “feedback.” The employees “did so without heating and testing this ‘feedback mixture’ as required by law.” This violates both federal and state anti-garbage feeding laws.
The undercover investigation took place between November 2019 — March 2020.
The false claim is predicated on Holden Farms’ receipt, and the ultimate forgiveness, of $2.57 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funding under the CARES Act. To secure this funding, Holden Farms certified it was not engaging in any illegal activity under federal, state, or local laws. The lawsuit claims the four-month undercover investigation at the Utica facility establishes Holden Farms “engages in systematic and ongoing violations of the Federal Swine Health Protection Act, the Minnesota anti-cruelty law, and the Minnesota anti-garbage feeding law.”
Alleged violations of federal and state laws:
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