It was 2016 when our investigation team accompanied journalist Sabrina Giannini inside a pig farm of an Amadori Group company.
The animals lived in extremely narrow cages, inside a shed with appalling hygiene conditions, unable to move to the point that they could not even get rid of the numerous mice that walked over their bodies. The work of our investigation team also extended to various chicken farms of the company owned by Amadori. Hidden cameras filmed loading workers urinating inside farms, instead of taking the strict biosecurity measures required.
The images broadcast on the Report programme were seen by 2.5 million people and the terrible conditions in which the sows were kept aroused enormous indignation.
Watch the report
The investigations that led to the ruling
After the broadcasting of the report, ENPA filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Forlì, which was followed by a long phase of investigations.
The accused, who have chosen to settle, are the legal representative of a company wholly owned by Amadori, sentenced for the crime of killing and mistreatment of animals (art. 544 bis and ter of the Italian Criminal Code) to 3 months’ imprisonment (suspended penalty) and a fine of 22,500 euros. The custodian and manager of the farm was sentenced to a fine of 1,600 euros for the crime of abandoning animals (art. 727 of the Italian Criminal Code).
The investigations delegated by the judiciary found sows imprisoned in cages that were too small, “not suited to the size of the animals” and a total “absence of adequate dry and clean spaces to allow the animals to rest” and the “absence or inadequacy of environmental enrichment”. As a result, the animals “were subjected to conditions that were intolerable for their ethological characteristics, causing unnecessary suffering and in some cases even death”.
The organisation Animal Equality also contributed to the investigation, providing images of the conditions in which chickens were kept on other farms of a company owned by Amadori. A stimulus that allowed the legal proceedings to continue and that, in 2019, led to a specific appeal lodged by ENPA with the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) to ask Amadori to modify its communication about chickens reared for food because it was considered potentially misleading.
The importance of investigations on farms
This important ruling was reached thanks to the monitoring and inspection work of our investigation team and the work of several animal rights organisations. Such behaviour towards farmed animals, often regarded as deserving fewer rights, must be regarded as an offence in all respects. This is also important because it can serve as a deterrent to other farmers, encouraging them to refrain from farming practices that cause additional suffering to the animals who are already severely tested by standard intensive farming conditions.
Investigations on farms and in slaughterhouses are important for revealing these illegal acts, but also go far beyond this. With our cameras, in addition to capturing images that provide overwhelming evidence of abuse and violence, we document standard conditions on farms to show what happens to animals used for meat production and to promote positive changes.
An extremely important and difficult task that we can only continue to perform with your support.