North Platte residents were treated to a gruesome depiction of Porky’s brother, or maybe it was his sister, outside of the North Platte Walmart today.  Many loyal Post readers have called wondering what is going on, so here’s the story:

Members of the national animal rights organization, Mercy for Animals, have launched a national campaign to bring attention to their claim that one of Walmart’s pork suppliers abuses the animals, namely pigs, at their facilities.

According to Mercy for Animals national campaign chairman, Phil Letten, Christensen Farms, a pork supplier for Walmart,  keeps pregnant pigs confined for nearly their entire lives in fly infested crates barely larger than own bodies.  Letten also claims the pigs suffer from bloody open wounds and infections.

“Walmart pork suppliers are guilty of horrific cruelty to animals,” Letten said.

The Post, is a news source, not a propaganda machine, so we wanted to give Walmart officials a chance to defend the claims.

According to Danit Marquardt, a Walmart spokesman at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, the company was “listening closely to points of view from farmers, food manufacturers, animal rights organizations, customers and others.”

“We hold our suppliers to the highest standards and do not tolerate animal mistreatment,” Marquardt said, “We are currently engaged with pork suppliers, food safety experts and other organizations to work towards an industry-wide model that is not only respectful of farmers and animals, but also meets our customers’ expectations for quality and animal safety.”

As Porky always says, thhhhhhat’s all folks!