Undercover investigations

Cannibalized chickens, animals beaten and violently thrown, decomposing carcasses and serious health risks: the footage documents, for the first time in Italy, what happens inside a breeding chicken farm. The facility, located in the province of Verona, confines 40,000 chickens of fast-growing breeds. The chicks born there are then raised by AIA, which supplies major supermarkets, including Coop. Read more

Chickens subjected to mistreatment at every stage of their lives, from the moment the chicks are unloaded upon arrival at the farm to the time they are loaded for slaughter. In this investigation, we documented animals grabbed by the neck, spun around, run over by tractors, or left to suffer in agony: our new inquiry reveals serious abuse of chickens at a farm supplying Lidl in Italy. Read more

Animals agonizing with open wounds, mistreatment by operators, burns on chests and legs, as well as the death of dozens of chickens every day: these are the dramatic scenes documented in four farms of a supplier to KFC Italy. Read more

For the launch of the campaign aimed at KFC, calling for the elimination of the cruellest practices in chicken farming, we conducted an investigation that documented an entire breeding cycle, lasting about 40 days. The images show the rapid growth of the chickens and the related issues. Read more

We carried out an investigation in two farms belonging to a supplier of Lidl Italy supermarket chain. The investigation was released in support of the European campaign #LidlChickenScandal. The footage shows violence towards chicks and chickens by some workers, which is why we have decided to report the farm for the crimes of animal abuse and killing of animals. Read more

Using a drone we documented culling operations on a farm in the province of Vicenza where cases of avian flu were detected. Chickens were collected with the blade of a bulldozer and then herded by the thousands into containers which, once sealed, were filled with gas. It takes about 30 minutes for the operations to be completed and chickens in the bottom layer are crushed by the weight of the ones above. In situations like these, farmers are not obliged to comply with animal welfare regulations (e.g. animals can be killed without prior stunning). Read more

One of Essere Animali’s investigators worked undercover on several farms supplying the AIA brand. These images document the entire chicken breeding cycle for the first time and show a life full of suffering and violence. Read more

Thanks to one of our undercover investigators, we were able to document one of the grey areas of chicken meat production. On International, the documented footage shows the brutal way in which chickens are loaded for transport to the slaughterhouse. Read more

These terrible images document the first day of life of chicks destined to be raised as ‘broilers’. One of Essere Animali’s undercover investigators spent several months working in the hatchery of one of the largest Italian companies and filmed the treatment of these fragile animals for the first time: denied maternal care, treated like objects and ground up alive if sick or injured. A brutal system that is required only to satisfy current consumption levels, for which over 500 million chickens are born and then killed every year. Read more

In this new investigation, we documented mistreatment on intensive chicken farms supplying major Italian brands. Using hidden cameras, our investigation team also filmed repeated incidences of abuse by the workers, kicking animals and brutally throwing them into cages when loading them for transport to the slaughterhouse, which occurs when the animals are only 40 days old. Read more

Over these weeks of heatwaves we have gone back to monitoring the trucks transporting live animals during the hottest hours of the day, and in particular pigs destined for the PDO supply chain. Every animal we observed showed signs of heat stress: laboured, open-mouth panting, excessive salivation, reddened skin. Some died during transport, and in none of the trucks did the animals have access to water. Read more

With Selvaggia Lucarelli, we exposed serious irregularities and animal abuse on a large pig farm in Veneto that locks a thousand sows in tiny cages and supplies the PDO supply chain. Read more

Pigs brutally beaten with sticks, lifted by their snouts or ears, and kicked: the footage we have released comes from a supplier farm for Lidl Italy. In addition to these acts of violence, the investigation revealed severely inadequate practices, extremely poor hygiene conditions, and aggressive behavior by both the workers and the veterinarian towards the animals. Read more

Sows in cages with severe injuries, dead piglets, and pigs with ulcers and hanging hernias: these are the dire conditions documented in 11 farms supplying the slaughterhouse owned by Levoni. Levoni is one of the largest Italian meat companies. The farms have been reported to the authorities in Padua and Cremona. Read more

Using drones, we documented the killing of thousands of pigs at a farm in the province of Pavia, affected by an outbreak of African swine fever. The footage highlights various issues, including cruel slaughter methods, the staff's lack of competence in animal management, and the violation of biosecurity measures to limit the spread of the virus. Read more

During the days of extreme heat, we documented the conditions of pigs being transported to slaughterhouses in Northern Italy. Using a thermal gun, we detected internal temperatures inside the trucks of 51C in one instance, and over 40C in others. The majority of the pigs showed clear signs of suffering, including a significantly elevated respiratory rate. Read more

A covert investigation was conducted in a farm renowned for its contribution to the 'Made in Italy' label. The investigation, narrated by journalist Selvaggia Lucarelli, reveals instances of mistreatment, illegal activities, and systemic problems within these establishments. This investigation forms a part of our #SOSPig campaign, through which we urge leading pork product brands to take action in eradicating the most troubling practices prevalent in the industry. Read more

On days of extreme heat in July, our investigative team monitored some trucks used to transport live animals along the A1 motorway, between Lodi and Bologna. The internal temperatures of the vehicles reached 40°C: the pigs were gasping and visibly suffering because of the high temperatures. Many of them didn't have access to water. What's worse, all of this is legal. Read more

Our investigators visited a pig farm which serves the production of PDO ham in the Lombardy region, where the carcasses of hundreds of dead piglets were abandoned in buckets and disposed of illegally. Given the serious health and hygiene conditions, our investigators decided to place a hidden camera, which allowed us to document the operators’ brutal behavior, animal abuse, and illegal culling. These problems were subsequently confirmed by an investigation by authorities, which occurred after our report. Read more

One of our investigators worked under cover on a factory farm raising pigs for the production of DOP ham located near Verona. We have documented cruel and illegal acts, brutal killings of piglets and a heavy use of drugs. The images were broadcast by the national TV News Tg1. We reported the case to the authorities. Read more

Terrible acts of cruelty documented against pigs at a farm supplying the Fratelli Beretta brand. The animals are kicked, beaten with blunt objects, grabbed by the ears, lifted off the ground or thrown from a tractor. A worker pulls out a pig’s teeth with pliers, without the use of anaesthesia. Read more

An investigator from Essere Animali worked undercover on a farm supplying "Prosciutto di Parma" (premium Parma ham), documenting violence and numerous incidences of illegal behaviour. In just a few weeks, using a hidden camera he filmed pigs being beaten and thrown around their pens, painful surgical operations carried out without anaesthesia and the macabre habit of throwing piglet’s testicles and tails into the feeding troughs of the sows. Read more

In Italy, 9 million pigs have their tails mutilated and males are castrated without anesthesia or pain relief. During pregnancy and birth, 500,000 sows are kept in cages so small that they cannot move at all. Such practices cause extreme suffering to these intelligent and sensitive animals and, in the case of tail-cutting, are also illegal. However, the problem is so widespread and structural that it is found on almost all farms (including PDO). By means of the #SosPig campaign, we urgently want to bring these cruel practices to an end. Read more

One of Essere Animali’s investigators who worked undercover at a farm that supplies pigs for ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ (premium Parma ham) documented numerous incidences of violence and continuous violations of animal protection standards. Read more

Between February and June 2017, Essere Animali documented eight farms supplying pigs for Prosciutto di Parma (premium Parma ham): the images show animals in a state of serious suffering and situations of mistreatment that we promptly reported. It is not the first time that we have filmed such conditions. In December 2016, our video "Prosciutto Crudele" (Cruel Ham), filmed inside a farm supplying the Consortium, sent shock waves through the country. Read more

Essere Animali’s investigation team spent 6 months constantly monitoring the condition of pigs on a large factory farm that supplies Parma ham. These images show that a terrible reality of suffering can even lie behind a brand considered part of the Made in Italy "chain of excellence". Faced with these images, it is important to understand that our choices are fundamental if we are to help these animals. Read more

The footage was filmed by Essere Animali’s investigation team between June and December 2015 on intensive farms in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. The investigation, documenting the conditions in which more than 600 million animals are raised every year in Italy, was first published by Corriere and later featured in a Tg1 special seen by over 1 million people. Read more

Between 2011 and 2012, we spent 9 months collecting information and video and photographic images of pig farms in Italy. We entered more than 50 farms, during the day and night, to witness the situation in which 13 million pigs are forced to live all over the country. A journey into hell that brought us into direct contact with the victims of this system of slavery and their pleading eyes, begging for freedom and lost in indifference. Read more

The videos, made by a former employee, show irregular slaughter practices and violence against the animals, with veterinarians not contesting these practices and alerting the company before inspections. With the release of this investigation, we ask the institutions to implement transparent changes to address the issues in fish farming. Read more

Published in collaboration with Compassion in World Farming, this investigation reveals farming and slaughter practices that cause enormous suffering to millions of fishes in the EU. On the trout, sea bass and sea bream farms we visited, animals are forced to live in barren and overcrowded tanks, are moved at high speed using pumps, and are often left out of water for endless minutes. Also, stunning and killing methods are used ineffectively, meaning that many die after prolonged suffering, and others are still alive during the packaging operations. Read more

Our investigators documented the appalling living conditions and cruel practices to which sea bream and sea bass are subjected on intensive farms in Greece, the European aquaculture leader. Violent slaughter, overcrowding and high mortality rates: our images once again reveal the enormous suffering of fish raised for food. The investigation was carried out in collaboration with We Animals Media. Read more

One of our undercover investigators filmed the typical “pesca con l’arpione”, a fishing technique used to capture swordfish in the Strait of Messina, between Sicily and Calabria. This technique is extremely painful for the swordfish because it involves ripping off its skin with a knife in order to remove the harpoon (in Italian arpione) from its flesh. This process is performed while the swordfish is still alive. Read more

Overcrowded cages, widespread diseases and cruel slaughter methods. This is what we documented during an investigation on fish farms in Greece, where more than half of the sea bream and sea bass sold in Italy come from. Deprived of their freedom, exposed to stressors and subjected to cruel practices, fish are kept in critical conditions on intensive fish farms. Read more

Over 60 facilities, including farms and slaughterhouses, were monitored in the past year. Footage was recorded at night, during the day or undercover, to film the conditions of the animals. This is the reality, harsh and unfiltered, documented by our investigation team during the daily checks that were carried out, even with journalists in tow. Read more

We documented intensive fish farms for the first time in Europe. This is where most of the fish consumed by Italians come from. Using hidden cameras, we discovered farms similar to meat farms, with millions of fish caged, handled and transported as if they were objects. Fish suffer in silence and urgent intervention is required. Read more

For the first time, we documented traditional octopus fishing: a widespread practice in all Italian seas and a cause of suffering for millions of intelligent animals. By means of this investigation, we wish to introduce people to these incredible animals and stimulate reflection on the practice of fishing. Millions of octopuses are cruelly slaughtered, both by industrial fishing and small-scale fishing. Read more

Over these weeks of heatwaves we have gone back to monitoring the trucks transporting live animals during the hottest hours of the day, and in particular pigs destined for the PDO supply chain. Every animal we observed showed signs of heat stress: laboured, open-mouth panting, excessive salivation, reddened skin. Some died during transport, and in none of the trucks did the animals have access to water. Read more

Injured sheep forced to travel with broken legs, trapped in the truck’s structure; insufficient, ammonia-soaked bedding; lack of headroom; excessive densities; and drinkers that are not working or cannot be reached. Once again, we have documented serious irregularities in the transport of sheep to Italian slaughterhouses ahead of Easter. Read more

Every year, as Christmas approaches, thousands of lambs are transported from Eastern Europe to Italian slaughterhouses, packed onto trucks for long and exhausting journeys. We returned to the Slovenian border to document these transports and reveal what lies behind a tradition that, during the peak consumption period, multiplies suffering. Read more

For Easter, we documented serious violations in the transport of sheep and lambs coming from Eastern Europe, France, and Spain, destined for Italian slaughterhouses. During the monitoring of 20 trucks, numerous breaches were found: injured or unweaned animals, non-functioning drinking systems, and overcrowding on journeys lasting up to 30 hours. Three sheep and several lambs died due to the transport conditions. Despite the health risks linked to disease transmission from Eastern Europe, many vehicles were neither inspected nor sanitized. Read more

We have once again documented the terrible journeys of lambs imported into Italy from Eastern Europe for the Christmas season. A truck from Romania, reported to the authorities and inspected, was carrying animals crammed together, with their heads pressed against the upper partitions. The lambs showed clear signs of respiratory problems, accompanied by abundant mucus, and the bedding was dirty and completely soaked with excrement. Read more

In collaboration with Animal Welfare Foundation, we documented the exhausting journeys that sheep and cattle raised in Europe are forced to endure in order to be slaughtered in non-EU countries. Every year, more than 160 million animals are exported outside the borders of the European Union, of which over 5 million are sheep, cattle, and pigs, with the remainder being poultry. Read more

Just days before Easter, our team returned to the border between Italy and Slovenia to monitor trucks loaded with lambs coming from Eastern Europe and headed towards Italian slaughterhouses. Issues related to the animals' transport conditions were documented, leading to law enforcement imposing thousands of euros in fines. Read more

The images collected in recent days, in collaboration with Animals’ Angels, Animal Welfare Foundation, and Enpa, reveal numerous issues: dead animals crushed by their peers, water dispensers that prevent animals from drinking, trucks designed in a way that endangers the animals' safety, overcrowding, and poor hygiene conditions of the bedding. Read more

During the days of extreme heat, we documented the conditions of pigs being transported to slaughterhouses in Northern Italy. Using a thermal gun, we detected internal temperatures inside the trucks of 51C in one instance, and over 40C in others. The majority of the pigs showed clear signs of suffering, including a significantly elevated respiratory rate. Read more

Our investigative team went to the border of Gorizia in order to monitor live animal transport of lambs as young as a few weeks old. We inspeceted 7 multi-storey trucks arriving from Romania, Hungary and Slovakia and 6 of these were sanctioned by the police. Read more

Our team returned to the Italian-Slovenian border to monitor the conditions of the trucks carrying lambs under 3 months old before the Christmas holidays. On journeys that can last up to 30 hours, the animals are forced into overcrowded conditions with little or no water. The trucks compartments are not sufficiently high, a condition that can cause bumps and injuries. Read more

On days of extreme heat in July, our investigative team monitored some trucks used to transport live animals along the A1 motorway, between Lodi and Bologna. The internal temperatures of the vehicles reached 40°C: the pigs were gasping and visibly suffering because of the high temperatures. Many of them didn't have access to water. What's worse, all of this is legal. Read more

We documented the conditions of lambs imported from Eastern Europe to Italy to be slaughtered before Easter. We identified and chased four vehicles, three of which were stopped and sanctioned by the traffic police. Two were from Hungary and one from Romania. The violations concerned the insufficient height of the compartments, which did not allow the animals to move naturally. A lamb traveled for hours with one leg stuck between the truck bars and watering systems installed in vehicles were not suitable for sheep. Read more

Every year, Italy imports hundreds of thousands of lambs from various European countries, especially from Hungary and Romania. In 2019, there were 773,300, about 33% of all the lambs slaughtered in our country. The journey to Italian slaughterhouses is often a torture for these animals: they spend up to 30 hours crammed into overcrowded trucks, without food or water. Read more

The footage collected documents severe conditions in a Veneto-based farm housing 60,000 caged hens for egg production: decomposing carcasses left inside the cages alongside live animals, sick and dying hens abandoned without care, violence during the loading of animals bound for slaughter, and the use of undeclared labor. This investigation once again highlights the serious issues linked to caged farming — a cruel practice that still involves 35% of hens raised in Italy. Read more

Our investigative team documented the conditions of quails bred in cages for the production of eggs and meat. The investigation, disseminated with the End the Cage Age coalition, shows animals forced to live in small and bare cages, without being able to satisfy their ethological needs, such as flying, exploring, and scratching the ground. Find out more. Read more

One of our investigators worked undercover in an egg producing hen farm in the province of Venice. They filmed violations such as covert slaughter of hundreds of hens, cruel killing of sick animals, violent loading operations, exploitation of illegal workers, failure to comply with security protocols, alleged commercial fraud, and false invoices. Read more

One of our investigators worked undercover at several farms owned by a large company in Emilia Romagna and, using a hidden camera, filmed brutal animal abuse and evidence of ongoing food fraud. The farm, which we have reported to the authorities, supplies well-known brands of eggs that are commonly found in Italian supermarkets. Read more

We filmed workers treating animals with violence and documented the most widespread type of farming in our country. More than half of the eggs produced in Italy come from caged hens that spend their whole lives without even being able to spread their wings. Read more

A new investigation by Essere Animali reveals the conditions of hens raised in Italy for egg production. The footage comes from investigation work carried out on various (ten) factory farms located in Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Veneto, regions that alone account for almost half the national production. We filmed the conditions on caged and ‘free-range’ farms in which over 34 million hens are imprisoned, 92% of those raised in Italy. The animals are locked in sheds without being able to access outdoor areas or see the sunlight. Read more

Starting at the end of December 2011 and for the next two months, we focused on 27 farms located in the provinces of Bologna, Cesena, Ferrara, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini, with the aim of bringing to light current images of all types of intensive farming practised in Emilia Romagna.
 We entered these farms and filmed and photographed the conditions of the animals, obtaining more than 15 hours of video recordings and over 1000 photos. Bearing in mind the fact that there are about 200 factory farms in Emilia Romagna, we can say that we have visited more than 10% of the structures in this sector. This footage, the photographs and the information that we disclose are intended to show the conditions under which so-called ‘laying hens’ are reared.

The footage was captured by a worker employed at a dairy farm supplying milk for a PDO cheese, a symbol of Made in Italy excellence. The videos reveal systematic abuse inflicted on the animals by all parties involved: farmers, transport workers, and even two veterinarians. We have reported those responsible to the Modena Public Prosecutor’s Office, but the case risks being dismissed, as the videos are not considered sufficient evidence to support the charge of animal cruelty. Read more

We have carried out a new undercover investigation within 12 milk producing buffalo farms in the provinces Caserta and Selerno, production areas of Campania buffalo mozzarella PDO. Our images reveal diverse unlawful practices, buffalo suffering, dead buffalo calves and other animal cruelties. Read more

Two months after the release of a first investigation, one of our investigators documented the conditions of another dairy farm producing Grana Padano cheese, situated in the province of Brescia. He filmed very serious hygienic and sanitary shortcomings, including dead calves abandoned on the floor or animals covered with excrement. On this farm, too, calves are separated from their mother at birth, locked up in small individual pens and treated brutally. Read more

One of our investigators worked undercover in a dairy farm producing Grana Padano, the most widely consumed PDO cheese in the world. Calves separated from their mothers right after birth, animals locked up in small cages in critical hygienic conditions and fed with surrogates, insults, kicks and slaps by the operators: this is the cruel reality that we have documented. Read more

Our investigators documented the appalling living conditions and cruel practices to which sea bream and sea bass are subjected on intensive farms in Greece, the European aquaculture leader. Violent slaughter, overcrowding and high mortality rates: our images once again reveal the enormous suffering of fish raised for food. The investigation was carried out in collaboration with We Animals Media. Read more

An Essere Animali investigator worked undercover at Italy's largest intensive sheep farm for milk production. Here, 5000 animals are locked in concrete sheds without ever having access to pasture. They are brutally treated and subjected to continuous pregnancies, births and milking, a cycle that weakens them and condemns them to the slaughterhouse at a very young age. The same fate applies to male lambs, killed at just 30 days old for their flesh. Read more

An undercover investigation by Essere Animali, has revealed the appalling conditions for cows and calves on some intensive dairy farms. The images come from the hidden cameras of two of Essere Animali's undercover investigators who worked on farms in northern Italy. Read more

We documented intensive fish farms for the first time in Europe. This is where most of the fish consumed by Italians come from. Using hidden cameras, we discovered farms similar to meat farms, with millions of fish caged, handled and transported as if they were objects. Fish suffer in silence and urgent intervention is required. Read more

Our investigation team has conducted a new investigation in Poland – the main European country for mink farming for fur production and second for fox farming, after Finland – gathering images inside a huge fur farm on which foxes are confined in narrow and dilapidated individual cages. The conditions we documented show the extreme and repressive conditions to which foxes are subjected. Read more

Using a drone, our investigative team filmed a mass mink cull in Italy’s largest fur farm, in Capralba (Cremona), where three animals were found to be infected with coronavirus. The animals were killed in gas chambers and thrown with a tractor shovel into a bin. Our images were aired on Tg1, a national TV news programme. Read more

We spent many months working to once again bring the reality of mink farms in Italy to light. Four years after the release of our first investigation, we found the same conditions of suffering, documented in this video, narrated by Rosita Celentano and first published by Corriere della Sera. Read more

Once again using hidden cameras and stakeouts, we documented what happens on mink farms in Italy. After Dying for fur, we released this new video to show the public where fur coats are born. Read more

We spent over 18 months documenting the conditions of mink farms in Italy, with the aim of making these unknown and hidden places visible to anyone. We entered the farms uninvited, day and night, installed hidden cameras and obtained unprecedented images also through the work of an undercover activist. For the first time in Italy, we documented the tragic moment of the killing by means of gas chambers and the early stages of the processing of the corpses. The result is a video that reconstructs the entire life cycle of the minks, from birth to death, with nothing but imprisonment and suffering in between. This video was released to launch a campaign for the abolition of fur farms. Read more

Using hidden cameras, we gathered evidence of the transport to slaughterhouses of hundreds of "downer cows." Dangerous handling and horrifying violence: animals unable to move are dragged with steel cables, prodded with electric goads and pitchforks, or hung by their legs while still conscious. There are also serious irregularities in the slaughtering process. Following our legal action, five individuals are now on trial for animal cruelty and killing. Read more

The investigation uncovered cruel practices at a capon farm in the province of Milan. Undercover footage shows animals left without food for 24 hours and castrated without anesthesia; the removal of the testicles is done to improve the flavor and quality of the meat. In December, the peak of slaughters is reached, with nearly a million capons killed to end up in the traditional broth. Read more

In support of the End the Cage Age campaign, we conducted a 24-hour live broadcast from four different intensive farms. The footage, streamed live on our YouTube channel from rabbit, calf, sow, and hen farms, showcases the reality of the extreme confinement these animals are forced to live in, deprived of the chance to exhibit their natural behaviors. Read more

We documented the living conditions of rabbits reared for meat production in seven farms in Northern Italy. Almost all rabbits in Europe are raised in cages: bare structures, formed entirely by metal wires where rabbits cannot satisfy their ethological needs. We disseminate this investigation together with the Italian coalition in support of End the Cage Age, the EU citizens' initiative that calls for an end to the use of all types of cages for animals raised for food. Read more

Our investigators used hidden cameras to document lamb production in Sardinia, the region with the highest number of sheep raised in Italy. They inspected twenty farms in all provinces, filming practices that are banned because they cause animal suffering as well as shock confessions from farmers who admit to killing lambs in times of low demand for their meat, as it does not make economic sense to raise them. Serious irregularities were also found in a large slaughterhouse, despite the presence of veterinarians. Read more

Marta, Charlie and other macaques are locked in the cages of an enclosure at a major Italian university. Their sad lives were documented using hidden cameras. They live for years in small, bare metal cages. They have electrodes inserted into their skull or temple, required for the neuroscience experiments to which they are subjected. Read more

Essere Animali’s hidden cameras filmed month-old babies being forcibly unloaded from trucks, bleating in fear as they watch their fellows die. This is not the first time we have documented such heartbreaking scenes, as every year around Easter thousands of lambs suffer the same fate. But things are changing: the consumption of this particular meat is falling dramatically and the number of lambs slaughtered has almost halved over the past ten years. Read more

We infiltrated various small and medium-sized slaughterhouses to film the slaughter of lambs. Our images were broadcast in prime time on Tg1 in a report by Roberta Badaloni and once again showed millions of Italians the terrible reality of slaughter. Read more

We went to France, the leading producer of foie gras, the fatty liver obtained from the killing of ducks and geese that are subjected to forced feeding, banned in Italy and condemned by the EU but allowed in some countries because it is recognised as a “common practice”. Read more

This video, released a few days before Easter, documents the killing of lambs in an Italian slaughterhouse. We filmed baby animals watching helplessly as their fellow beings are killed in front of them, stunned and have their throats slit in full view. The rough behaviour of the workers, who grab the lambs by the legs and move them around abruptly, causes further serious suffering. Read more

Italy is the largest consumer of horsemeat in Europe. For this reason, Essere Animali decided to document and report the trafficking of these animals and the physical and psychological suffering to which they are subjected. Tens of thousands of horses are imported every year by means of interminable journeys from farms and markets in Poland, France and Spain. On arrival, a terrible death in the slaughterhouses awaits them, where they witness in terror the slaughter of those who precede them. A violence that we documented with unique images and was seen for the first time by millions of people. Read more

This project, curated by Essere Animali and supported by the declarations of ethologists, biologists and psychologists of undisputed competence, was carried out in the spring of 2013 in the zoo inaugurated about a year previously in the vicinity of the Mirabilandia amusement park. The birth of this safari and zoo, in which more than 450 wild and exotic animals are currently confined, was preceded by years of battles by numerous animal-rights associations that tried to prevent it. Today, however, a visit to Safari Ravenna shows the entire commercial side of this structure: animals on display among rows of cars, completely immersed in a context that is certainly not suited to them and condemned, for a monotonous eternity with no stimuli, to that meaningless life reserved for them in zoos. Read more