The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has learned that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claiming that NPPC is “engaging in deceptive advertising related to animal well-being.”

NPPC says it plans to “analyze the complaint once it becomes public and will vigorously defend against the absolutely false claims made by HSUS.

“The FTC complaint is the latest attack by animal-rights activists on America’s hog farmers, an assault that seems obviously in response to the U.S. pork industry’s strident opposition to congressional legislation that would allow federal bureaucrats to tell farmers how to raise and care for their animals,” NPPC says in a statement issued Wednesday.

NPPC says it looks forward to FTC quickly dismissing HSUS’s complaint.

“America’s hog farmers are committed to providing humane and compassionate care for their pigs at every stage of life. U.S. hog farmers are the ones who ensure the well-being of their animals and who are dedicated to producing safe, affordable and healthful food for consumers – using standards and practices that have been designed with input from veterinarians and other animal-care experts – not groups that spend well over half of the donations they receive on soliciting more contributions and, apparently, the other portion on suing American farmers,” NPPC says.