Video shows cruel incidents of animal cruelty in a cattle shop in Baden-Württemberg
Created: 09/28/2022, 15:06
The district of Schwäbisch Hall is known, among other things, as a pig fattening and breeding region.
The cattle dealer Berger from Ilshofen is also located here.
SOKO Tierschutz eV is now proving its unscrupulous business model using hidden camera recordings from four months.
For four months, SOKO Tierschutz eV filmed footage with a hidden camera at the Berger livestock dealership in Ilshofen (Schwäbisch-Hall district).
The videos show horrible conditions: pigs crawl on the ground, the farmers drive them on with electric batons.
The public prosecutor's office has commissioned investigations into the livestock trade.
In February, SOKO Tierschutz eV informed the responsible veterinary office about the conditions in the Berger cattle shop for the first time.
At the beginning of August, the public prosecutor commissioned investigations.
The allegations: Seriously ill or paralyzed pigs were regularly picked up by farmers, who then took the animals to the slaughterhouse.
Mainly sows were affected.
These processes are not only cruel, but forbidden in form.
The pigs have to suffer particularly during transport.
Here an animal is tortured with an electric shock.
© SOKO Animal Welfare Association
Farmers from Schwäbisch Hall picked up seriously ill animals and brought them to slaughterhouses
Seriously ill, paralyzed or seriously injured animals from farmers in the Schwäbisch Hall region were regularly picked up by the Ilshofen livestock dealers and taken to slaughterhouses in southern Germany.
"This fate hit the sows in particular, which already have the worst life in pig farming and are ill and unprofitable after a few years," explains SOKO animal welfare spokesman Mülln.
The pig is pulled by the ear in the direction of the transporter.
At the same time, it is tied to a rope.
© SOKO Animal Welfare Association
Pigs were shocked with electric batons in the livestock store
Extreme force was used.
Animals with paralyzed hind legs were dragged around and shocked with electric batons.
Some animals had their intestines hanging out of their bodies during transport.
In the barn of the cattle shop, the animals were literally “stored” closely together and the acrid stench was almost unbearable for the animal welfare investigators.
However, such sick animals may not be transported or slaughtered.
If such animals become meat, one speaks of illegal "sick slaughter".
What is "sick slaughter"
Sick animals may only be slaughtered in special isolation slaughterhouses.
Both because of the possible transmission of diseases and because of possible drug residues, the meat is subject to mandatory controls and strict regulations for sale.
Due to the associated costs, it is hardly ever carried out.
The possibility of "slaughtering" existed in Germany until June 30, 2005 and has been illegal since then.
The two largest pig slaughterhouses in the state are among the six buyers of Berger pigs.
"We will remind the companies of their responsibility and call on them to stop working with criminal cattle dealers immediately," said Friedrich Mülln.
The scandal stable of the cattle shop is two minutes away from the responsible veterinary office
The other animals in the cattle shop met similar fates.
Indiscriminate electric shocks, including to the face, even to small piglets.
One scene shows a piglet being dragged by the ear from the farmer's stable into the transporter.
There are also two frighteningly amateurish killings by the company boss, during which the animals endure a protracted agony.
Particularly precarious: The scandal stable of the cattle trade is just two minutes away from the responsible veterinary office.
The company was allowed to continue, although it had been known to the authorities for years.
But: The Berger case is unfortunately not an isolated case: In Rottweil, too, a pig farm had to close in 2020 because the conditions there were unworthy and disgusting.
A pig farmer holds the animal by the tail, the other stands by with a stun gun.
© SOKO Animal Welfare Association
The cattle trade in Ilshofen is now being investigated
SOKO Tierschutz informed the responsible veterinary office about the situation in February.
Two other alerts in July also went unanswered.
Four weeks passed from the time the criminal complaint was filed on July 8 until the public prosecutor commissioned investigations.
"This shows that animal welfare is not a priority under Prime Minister Kretschmann and his Minister Hauk, even though this is the fourth scandal in a row.
That is why we demand that Minister of Agriculture Hauk be relieved of his responsibility for people and animals.
A fresh start is needed here!” demands Mülln.
