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Norfolk farm worker sentenced for abusing pigs with a pitchfork and pipe
Overview
Steven Woolger, a 48-year-old former worker at an Innovis boar semen collection centre in Burgh Castle, Norfolk, has been sentenced to a suspended 17-week jail term for animal abuse. Captured on camera by the Animal Justice Project between May and September 2024, Woolger was filmed striking pigs with a pitchfork and plastic pipe, and kicking them. He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering and failing to protect the animals. In addition to the suspended sentence and an 18-month supervision period, District Judge Matthew Bone banned him from caring for or transporting animals for 10 years and ordered him to pay £1,654 in fines.
Key points
- Steven Woolger, 48, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering and animal welfare offences.
- He was filmed between May and September 2024 striking pigs with a pitchfork and a plastic pipe, and kicking them at an Innovis boar stud farm in Burgh Castle.
- The investigation was conducted and made public by the Animal Justice Project, prompting a prosecution by Norfolk County Council's Trading Standards team.
- District Judge Matthew Bone handed down a 17-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, alongside a £1,654 fine.
- Woolger was also banned from being involved in the care or transportation of animals for 10 years.
- His defence lawyer cited mental health struggles and difficulties at home, though the judge condemned the actions as deliberate and repeated.