Though smaller farms, slaughterhouses and other facilities are generally perceived to be better or more humane, the video footage shows chickens being stunned inadequately, causing terrible suffering before death.

550 million animals are slaughtered in Italy every year, leading Animal Equality to launch a national campaign in 2017 to introduce fundamental regulatory changes in Italian slaughterhouses. Although inhumane practices are most often associated with factory farming, where animals are slaughtered on a large scale, the new investigation reveals cruelty and abuse  even at smaller, family-run businesses. 

The vast majority of Italy’s slaughtered animals are chickens; 500 million of them, in fact. Animal Equality’s investigation revealed chickens arriving at a local, family-run slaughterhouse in small, dirty crates, already injured and stressed. The workers then unload the animals from the cages violently, pulling them by their necks and legs. 

The Animal Equality footage shows that even establishments that consumers tend to trust are in violation of the Slaughter Regulation, showing the need to establish more control throughout the meat industry. Animal Equality is urging Italy’s ministers of Agriculture and Health to introduce stricter penalties for animal abuse within slaughterhouses and strengthen the system of controls to identify and report any form of violation. 

Animal Equality also requests the installation of cameras in slaughterhouses to expose serious violations taking place behind closed doors and away from the eyes of consumers.

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