INVESTIGATION: Mistreatment on Italy’s Pig Farms Revealed
In collaboration with Italian television, Animal Equality has released a new investigation that reveals the cruel reality for pigs bred for meat in Northern Italy—a region that markets its products with the stamp of the "excellence of Made in Italy."
THE DETAILS: In September 2020, Animal Equality and Italian journalist Roberta Spinelli visited a pig farm in Brescia, Italy, and documented terrible abuse and suffering—images in stark contrast from the idyllic picture of contented animals on green pastures often painted by the region’s producers. The investigative team found:
- Pigs abandoned and left to die in corridors
- Bodies of dead pigs amongst the living
- Workers dragging pigs by their legs with ropes
- Animals with cysts and sores, unable to walk because of their open wounds
- Animals crammed together and forced to live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions
- Pigs covered with feces and urine
- Cockroach, rat, and worm infestations
- Sewage not properly disposed of in a ditch adjacent to the farm and fields
WHAT WE’RE SAYING: "Thanks to this investigation, the horrors of Brescia’s pig farms are clearly revealed. We can no longer turn our heads from the suffering to which these sentient beings are forced to endure—mistreatment that happens behind the closed doors of these polluting farms which are often beneficiaries of public funds. We need more checks and balances for these places, and we need them now," says Alice Trombetta, Executive Director of Animal Equality Italy.
BACKGROUND: In Italy, there are more than 8 million pigs that are raised every year on industrial farms, 4 million of which are in Lombardy alone. Of these, almost 1.5 million are raised in the province of Brescia—an area also affected by pollution and sewage spills related to the massive presence of intensive farming.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Based on our findings, a formal complaint against the owners of the farm was delivered to the Prosecutor's Office of Brescia. In addition, a petition was launched in Italy addressed to the Presidency of the Council and the Minister of Health asking for more frequent and more effective controls to be carried out—unannounced—in order to ensure compliance with the country’s rules on hygiene and animal welfare.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: The reality is that animals are not afforded adequate protection in our food system and the abuse we filmed in Italy is unfortunately commonplace on pig farms all across the world, including in the US. Aggressive marketing campaigns by producers try to trick consumers into believing that the animals in their supply chains are happy and cared for but as our investigations have proved time and time again, nothing could be further from the truth. If these conditions concern you, the best way you can help is to leave animals off your plate and share our investigations with your family and friends. We can make a difference, together. We just need more people to learn about what really happens within animal agriculture.
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Transcript (English — en)
[Music]
every year in italy there are more than
eight million pigs raised for meat
consumption
of those more than 50 percent comes from
lombardy and almost 1.5 million come
from the province of brescia
where entire areas of land are almost
exclusively used for pig breeding
animal equality investigated a farm in
the region
and what we found was a far cry from the
quality and animal welfare standards
praised in the ads by the meat industry
[Music]
in fact the brutality of this system
emerges after reviewing evidence
collected from the farm
which shows that many animals will die
before slaughter
abandoned without assistance or
veterinary care
many untreated pigs are found to have
various diseases
bruises and signs of stress and
suffering with
open wounds and swelling of their limbs
these ailments are due to the negligent
behavior of managers who have not put in
place protocols to guarantee
minimum animal welfare standards
[Music]
other animals are simply left to die
because they are sick or considered
too weak many pigs
with some just a few months old were
documented to be abandoned in the middle
of the corridors for days without food
or water
and some of them were explicitly ignored
by the operators
the images we collected show operators
carelessly pushing past the animals
despite the pigs being frightened and
unable to move
one of the pigs is even sprayed by
operators during the cleaning of the
building
and becomes visibly agitated unable to
get up and move
the pig seems to be trying to drink the
water on the floor
because no one has provided them with
anything fresh
after days of being stranded in the
corridor without access to food or
water the animal is dragged away on the
concrete by the two operators shown in
the video
the frightened pig struggles desperately
to free itself from the chain around its
hind leg
several times dead pigs were found to be
left discarded in the hallways and pens
next to their live companions even in
what is called the infirmary
we found animals with untreated wounds
kept in filthy
insufficient environments with dead pigs
rotting alongside
their still living companions
here in what should be an area where
care and assistance are provided
some pigs are found to have instead died
while lying in water
contaminated with their own waste the
hygienic and sanitary conditions of the
farm are alarming
rats are everywhere and the feces of
both rats and pigs end up contaminating
the feeders and food supply
creating a breeding ground for
contamination and disease
pigs are intelligent sensitive animals
the pain suffering and stress they are
subjected to behind the doors of these
cruel places
are almost unthinkable
please leave animals off your plate