We release new, never-before-seen, footage from a farm that produces a PDO cheese, a symbol of Made in Italy excellence. The images show abuse carried out even by veterinary doctors. Yet the complaint is at risk of being dismissed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Watch the video
HELP US STOP THIS CRUELTY
155.447 already signed the petition. Let’s get to 300.000!
read the petition
FOR A REFORM OF ANIMAL PROTECTION LAWS
Directed to
Presidente del Consiglio
Ministro dell’Agricoltura e della Sovranità alimentare
Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica
Ministero della Salute
In recent years Essere Animali has published several investigations carried out inside Italian factory farms and slaughterhouses, some realized in collaboration with important and influential Italian and international media, in order to document and denounce the conditions of animals bred for food to the Italian judicial authorities and institutions. During these investigations, violations of animal protection laws and criminal code regulations were filmed.
Essere Animali investigations have revealed:
violence inflicted by farm staff, such as blows with iron pipes on delicate and innervated points, improper use of electric tasers, lifting cows to the ground with a forklift truck, kicking and throwing small animals;mutilations carried out without the use of anaesthesia and analgesia, without the presence of a veterinary, on animals over the age allowed by law, and the systematic cutting off of piglets’ tails, a practice that is illegal but widespread on almost all Italian farms;agonising animals left to die of starvation or killed in a brutal manner by farm workers, without the application of the correct provisions on the emergency slaughter of sick animals;animals transported for up to 30 hours in unsuitable means of transport, in distress and subjected to violence during loading and unloading;animals subjected to group slaughter instead of being killed individually so that they do not see the death of their fellow animals, stunned in an inappropriate manner and with death occurring in agony.
Several complaints have been filed with the competent authorities for these mistreatments, but the frequency of such episodes, filmed in almost all of the farms under investigation chosen on a random basis throughout the country, even among suppliers of DOP products, prompts me to express my deep concern.
In addition to these law violations, Essere Animali’s investigations have also shown types and practices of livestock farming that, although now legal, cause unquestionable physical and psychological suffering to animals, thus intrinsically violating respect for the welfare of animals on farms, including:
use of cages in which animals spend most or all of their lives;high densities when animals are reared ‘on the ground’ or in pens;surgical castration of piglets and deboning of hens;separation at birth of mothers from pups for milk production;forced genetic selection, which produces animals with characteristics intrinsically contrary to animal welfare, such as fast-growing breeds.
I therefore call for a process of legislative reform that will:
progressively prohibits the use of cages;prohibits all mutilation;puts an end to public subsidies to the livestock sector;brings about the tightening of sanctions for the mistreatment of animals and other violations of protection regulations, providing for the revocation of licence and banning from activity in the most serious cases;establishes a control system on farms, during transport and at slaughterhouses that is absolutely more effective than the one adopted to date, with the use of CCTV cameras with AI systems and unannounced independent checks by public veterinary staff;reformulates stocking densities, giving animals more space to move around, including outdoors, and adequate environmental enrichment;ensures public funding for more sustainable food production and activities such as plant-based production and works to reduce the suffering of animals that will still be confined to slaughterhouses and farms in the coming years.
These shocking images were filmed by a worker employed at a dairy farm producing milk for one of Italy’s flagship PDO cheeses. Around 800 animals, including cows and calves, were kept at this facility.
Widespread abuse by all staff, but our complaint risks being dismissed
The footage we share reveals systematic violence inflicted on the animals by all those involved: farm workers, the staff of the company responsible for transporting the animals to slaughter, and two veterinarians — the very people who should be protecting animal welfare on farms.
Despite having filed a complaint for animal cruelty and the trade of harmful food products — and despite the fact that follow-up investigations called for further inquiries — the entire case now is at risk of being definitively closed.
Terrible cruelties that could be dismissed by the prosecutors
The videos show multiple episodes of violence and violations of animal welfare laws. A veterinarian is seen repeatedly kicking and insulting cows, and inciting other workers to do the same.
Abuse by the veterinarian
The veterinarian repeatedly kicks cows restrained by the neck.
A “downer cow” was ineffectively stunned and, still alive, tied by one leg and dragged down a concrete corridor, then hoisted by the same leg, stunned a second time, and finally slaughtered after 15 minutes of agony.
Conscious cow dragged and hoisted
This cow was stunned the first time without result, and the veterinarian did not check whether she was still conscious.
Sick cows were slaughtered illegally, using cruel methods that pose risks not only to the animals but also to public health. Some “downer cows” were killed without a vet present, next to carcasses of other animals left there, dead, for days and then loaded onto unrefrigerated trucks despite outside temperatures of 37°C.
Other cows were tied with ropes and lifted with a forklift — a practice prohibited by law, as sick animals must be euthanized on-site following specific procedures that minimize additional suffering.
Abuse during loading for slaughter
Several workers were filmed attacking a cow, beating her with pitchforks even after she collapsed on the loading ramp.
Animals were abused during loading for slaughter; both the farm staff and the transport company’s workers repeatedly hit the cows with pitchforks. Illegal disposal of dead calves and appalling barn hygiene were also documented.
We filed our opposition against the dismissal proposed by the prosecutor
In June 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Modena requested to dismiss our complaint, basing this solely on the outcome of an inspection carried out by the local NAS (the anti-adulteration unit of the Carabinieri). During that inspection, the NAS found no criminal violations relating to animal welfare — only minor administrative fines for hygiene and record-keeping violations.
However, the serious acts of abuse and breaches of regulations documented in our footage — which would obviously not occur in front of inspectors — are crimes that can be prosecuted on the basis of the videos alone, regardless of the later farm inspection. Moreover, as early as November 2021, the NAS themselves requested permission to conduct further investigations, which were never authorized.
In July 2023, we filed an objection to the dismissal, which was accepted by the judge. This led to a few additional checks by the Prosecutor’s Office, but the deeper investigations recommended by the NAS were ignored. Once again, the Prosecutor requested dismissal on the grounds that there was no sufficient evidence of a crime, basing this solely on the outcome of the initial inspection.
Impossible to get justice for abused farm animals
We have therefore filed another objection, and on July 1 a new hearing will be held in which the dismissal request will be reviewed by a new Preliminary Investigations Judge. The constant handover of the case between three different prosecutors over time has further hindered the investigation.
If the dismissal is confirmed, no trial will ever begin to identify those responsible for the documented abuses.
HELP US STOP THIS CRUELTY