Grana Padano: documents from new investigation reveal shocking conditions on another farm

28 September 2021

Essere Animali

News

Two months after the release of an initial investigation, Essere Animali is releasing today a new video filmed on another dairy farm producing Grana Padano, the most widely consumed PDO cheese in the world. The footage shows dead calves, and exposes serious hygienic and sanitary neglect by the farm management, with animals forced to live and give birth among their own excrements.

Bologna, 29 September – After the release of an initial investigation on a dairy farm producing Grana Padano, which documented unacceptable living conditions for calves and violence by workers towards the animals, Essere Animali is publishing a new video filmed on another farm.

By releasing this second investigation, Essere Animali wishes to respond to the objections of the Grana Padano Protection Consortium, which previously dismissed the documented problems as isolated cases.

The new investigation exposes conditions on a farm located in the province of Brescia (Italy). The dairy production site is located next to the sheds which house some 1,000 animals, including cows and calves.

The undercover video by Essere Animali reveals:

• The presence of many dead calves, who died on the farm;

• Obvious hygienic and sanitary shortcomings, which indicate general neglect in the management of the farm;

• The birth of calves and ensuing separation from their mothers;

• The sheltering of calves in individual pens.

“With the first investigation on a farm in the province of Bergamo, we documented violence and insulting behaviour towards animals, while this new video of a farm in the province of Brescia shows inconceivable conditions of neglect, with animals forced to live in enclosures that are flooded or covered with excrement to the point that they struggle to move. Calves are also born in an unsanitary environment, conditions that presumably contribute to the high mortality rate found on the farm. With our investigations, we have unfortunately demonstrated that irregularities on factory farms are not isolated cases,” commented Simone Montuschi, President of Essere Animali.

The footage also highlights the maltreatment of calves on dairy farms, in particular the separation of calves from their mothers – which takes place immediately after birth – and their subsequent solitary confinement in small individual pens.

These practices are permitted by law and are carried out on almost all dairy farms, including those producing milk for ‘premium’ Italian products such as Grana Padano, but various studies demonstrate that such practices subject animals to social deprivation, stress, and suffering.

With the release of this investigation, Essere Animali is relaunching the No Animal Left Behind campaign, coordinated by Eurogroup for Animals, an organisation that brings together 79 animal protection NGOs in 24 EU member states, as well as the UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Norway, Australia, and the US.

These organisations are calling on the European Commission – which is committed to the Farm to Fork strategy, an initiative aimed at making the European food system fairer, healthier and more environmentally friendly – to revise the legislation on the protection of farm animals, which is currently considered grossly inadequate to guarantee them a life free from avoidable suffering.

With regard to the conditions of calves, Essere Animali and Eurogroup for Animals are calling for a revision of the current EU animal welfare laws to:

• Allow contact between the calf and the mother for at least eight weeks after birth, during which the animals must be kept in a system that provides for contact for at least half the day, with suckling permitted;

• Provide shelter that meets the behavioural needs of calves, which should be raised in groups and have access to outdoor areas

“This latest investigation proves for the upteenth time that most dairy farms don’t respect basic animal welfare rules but on the contrary, that calves and cows are treated as mere commodities. The revision of the legislation on farm animals is the opportunity for the European Commission to change once and for all this situation without leaving a single animal behind”, commented Reinke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals.

Continued on next page

‘Gassing methods can cause horrendous suffering to animals in their last moments.

Pigs are lowered into a chamber containing at least 70 percent CO2 in air.

During this time they will struggle, gasp for breath, squeal, and climb over each other until they finally lose consciousness.

The pigs must remain in the gas mixture until they are completely unconscious which can take up to 30 seconds. After this, the animals are then shackled by one hind leg, hoisted and their throats cut to drain their blood’.

Regards Mark

OPINION: Why The CO2 Shortages Make It The Best Time To Go Vegan (plantbasednews.org)

OPINION: Why The CO2 Shortages Make It The Best Time To Go Vegan

The UK meat industry is reaching ‘breaking point’ and warns Christmas will be cancelled as it fears CO2 slaughters will be stopped…

This week’s headlines are overrun with the issues surrounding the current surge in gas prices. And, the knock-on effect they are expected to have on the UK’s food security.  Damning reports from both farmers and meat processors warn that the CO2 shortages could cancel Christmas, and that the meat industry is reaching breaking point. This is affecting the slaughter process of pigs, poultry, and beef, as well as packaging. 

Siobhan Dolan from vegan charity Viva! explains the connection between CO2 and the meat industry.

CO2 shortages and the meat industry

For billions of animals slaughtered each year in the UK, CO2 is the last thing they will breathe before dying.

In fact, this technique of slaughter, known as gassing, is the most common slaughter technique for many intensively farmed animals.

This is usually because it is the cheapest and quickest way to kill many animals at once. While it has often been thought to cause less suffering than other visibly more brutal methods, this is not true. And, gassing methods can cause horrendous suffering to animals in their last moments.

Pigs are lowered into a chamber containing at least 70 percent CO2 in air.

During this time they will struggle, gasp for breath, squeal, and climb over each other until they finally lose consciousness.

The pigs must remain in the gas mixture until they are completely unconscious which can take up to 30 seconds. After this, the animals are then shackled by one hind leg, hoisted and their throats cut to drain their blood.

The length of time it takes to kill pigs and the acute distress it causes have led to calls to ban the CO2 stunning method.

How birds are slaughtered with CO2

Most poultry birds killed in the UK face a similar fate. Birds are transported to slaughterhouses in crates.

Then, while still in the crates, they are placed into a chamber. Here, they are exposed to either concentrations of CO2 or a mixture of inert gases (nitrogen and argon). The gas mixture deprives birds of oxygen, causing them to lose consciousness and die. 

In a nutshell, CO2 is used to slaughter millions of animals each year in the UK. And, the current shortage could pose significant delays to the number of animals processed for slaughter.  

Factory farmed animals are bred and reared in filthy, overcrowded sheds. As a result, they often suffer from disease, injury, and psychological problems.

In these environments, profits take priority over animal welfare and Viva!’s countless investigations prove that animals suffer for food production.

Why are animals allowed to be killed like this?

Conditions on factory farms are likely to deteriorate even further. And, animals will experience prolonged suffering on factory farms if delays occur at slaughterhouses as the industry is predicting.

There are also reports from the industry regarding the possibility of animals being destroyed (killed) on farms, should the issue continue.

However, shouldn’t the bigger question be; why are we allowing animals to be kept in these conditions, killed in this way, and continuing to eat them?

Especially, considering how much we understand about animal sentience and the impact animal agriculture is having on the climate crisis? 

CO2 shortages might mean you can’t eat turkey this Christmas, but there are plenty of incredible meat alternatives on the market that can win over even the most dedicated carnivores.

Veganism – Now might be a good time to give it a go…