
Investigations

Animal Sacrifice at Gadhimai Festival 2020
Thousands of animals were once again sacrificed at the Gadhimai Temple in Southern Nepal at an event held in conjunction with the 2019 Gadhimai festival. In exclusive footage captured by Animal Equality investigators, buffaloes, goats, and pigeons were filmed violently maimed and killed by festival attendees using a variety of weapons.

With My Own Eyes: Rooney Mara Joins Factory Farm Investigation
Animal rights activist and actor, Rooney Mara, joined Animal Equality for an investigation inside two modern farms. The investigation video, narrated by Mara and titled “With My Own Eyes,” reveals how pigs and chickens raised for meat, languished in abhorrent conditions, and encourages viewers to examine this harsh and painful reality for billions of farmed animals.

Gadhimai Festival Ritual Animal Killing
Animal Equality investigators have documented the massive ritual slaughter of animals during the Gadhimai Festival in Southern Nepal, which takes place every five years. Using drones, the investigators captured the magnitude of the killing, which occurred despite a promise to ban animal sacrifice.

The Reality of the Turkey Industry
Animal Equality investigators documented hatcheries, factory farms and slaughterhouses that show standard practices that are also present in the United States. In the hatcheries, the birds who do not meet the standards required by the industry are discarded alive along with the eggshells. They will die in the trash containers, crushed soon after seeing the world for the first time.

Italy’s Buffalo Mozzarella Production
Animal Equality investigators documented the horrors of buffalo mozzarella production in Northern Italy that are hidden from public view. Video footage revealed buffalos being forced to live amid knee-deep feces alongside dead animals, and baby male buffaloes abandoned to die of hunger and thirst. We also collected testimonials of Italian citizens who revealed the environmental impact of these farms on the community.

Cows Abused, Suffered Prolonged Deaths in Italian Slaughterhouse
Animal Equality released footage shot inside a cow slaughterhouse in Lombardy, Italy. The investigators documented that slaughter was often not performed in compliance with regulations, with video footage showing workers mistreating cows by pushing, pulling, violently hitting, inadequately stunning, and slaughtering them while still conscious and able to feel pain. Our investigation led to a petition asking for legal reform of the meat industry in Italy.

Chickens Endlessly Suffer at Artisinal Slaughterhouses
In Italy, Animal Equality released new footage about the slaughter of chickens by artisanal butchers, which often takes place without stunning and forces the animals to suffer endlessly.

Animal Equality, With Italy’s National Media Outlet, Exposed Italian Slaughterhouse Cruelty
For four months Animal Equality Italy’s investigation team, along with Tg2 journalist and host Piergiorgio Giacovazzo, made visits to a pig farm in the Northern Italian region of Lombardy. Despite the region’s animal welfare laws, we found that the thousands of pigs living on the farm were being subjected to extreme confinement, filth, untreated wounds, and abuse, including a worker who killed a pig by throwing the animal against a wall. We started a petition urging the Minister of Agricultural Policies to close this farm and improve oversight of all farms in the area.

Suffering and Agony Inside Italian Pig Slaughterhouses
Animal Equality Italy released a horrifying video from within a pig slaughterhouse in Lombardy, Italy. Terrified pigs tried to escape were gouged with electric prods. Many animals were not stunned properly and were still conscious as they were hung upside down by their legs and slaughtered. with scenes shot inside an Italian slaughterhouse showing the brutal killing of pigs. We’ve collected the support and signatures of over 140 thousand Italian citizens who have asked for change and new reform legislation regarding animal slaughter, and we’re using this footage to push for the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in all Italian slaughterhouses.

Amazon Rainforest Deforestation
After the devastating wildfires decimated the Amazon Rainforest, Animal Equality Brazil sent investigators to Northern Brazil to document the increased deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and its connection to animal agriculture. Cattle farming is mostly responsible for deforestation, with fires set to turn forests into pasturelands for cows or soy plantations to grow feed for animals raised for food. Our footage shows that the devastation of the Amazon rainforest for animal agriculture is extreme and far-reaching.