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Photo: DPA
The piglets were lying between dead animals: In Brandenburg, a young woman discovered several young pigs still alive in a waste container at a pig fattening facility.
"We heard breathing and a squeak," she told RTL.
She told her parents about it - they then called the police together, it is said.
"We opened the bin and got the animals out," the father is quoted as saying.
The alerted officers were able to find a total of three live piglets between the dead animals in the waste container parked on a street, as the police in Brandenburg an der Havel announced on the incident on Sunday.
One of the animals was seriously injured and was killed on site by a hunter.
The called fire brigade was able to save the two other animals from the waste container.
The veterinary office took care of the two still living piglets.
Farmers' Association: "Something like this must not happen under any circumstances"
The police recorded the personal details of those responsible for the company as well as several employees who were present and initiated proceedings for a violation of the Animal Welfare Act.
The criminal police are investigating.
The state farmers' association reacted with dismay to the discovery of the living animals in the carcass container.
“Under no circumstances should this happen.
If animals are brought into the carcass container, it must be ensured that they are actually dead, ”said Dorsten Höhne, chairman of the animal husbandry committee at the state farmers' association.
"The responsible regulatory authority must intervene consistently and ensure that things like this do not happen again."
According to Höhne, the company concerned is not a member of the farmers' association.
According to the broadcaster RBB, around 20,000 pigs are kept in the pig fattening facility on the outskirts of Bützer in Havelland.
Most recently, thousands of animals died in major fires in pig fattening systems in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia.
apr / AFP