Pigs kicked and illegally castrated without anaesthesia: the conviction for animal abuse in Mantua lifts the veil on the “practices” behind the supply chain of premium hams

Excerpt from Il Fatto Alimentare. Conclusions by the Foundation’s editorial team.

It took six years of waiting and an exhausting judicial process to establish that, on a pig farm supplying animals to the PDO ham circuit in the province of Mantua, violence was not an isolated incident but a “regular practice”. The Court of first instance convicted a worker of animal abuse under Article 544-ter of the Italian Criminal Code, imposing a fine of €14,000.

The ruling follows a 2019 complaint filed by the animal welfare organization Essere Animali and the shocking footage broadcast by Report, which showed more than one million viewers what can lie behind certain labels of excellence.

The chronicle of a systemic horror

The evidence documented and validated by the judge describes a scenario of gratuitous cruelty.

Illegal castrations of pigs were carried out without anaesthesia. In one of the most disturbing episodes, a worker attempted to treat a rectal prolapse manually using a safety pin, without painkillers and without the presence of a veterinarian. In both cases, the animals died.

Pigs were kicked and violently thrown into pens. There was also a practice of throwing severed testicles and tails into the sows’ feeding troughs.

The judge described these actions as “acts of cruelty” and “gratuitous violence”, stressing that they were not isolated episodes.

The protection consortia are careful to monitor the pig’s weight, feed and place of birth, because these parameters affect quality and profitability. Yet they overlook animal welfare, because it is not included in the product specifications.

And while these scandals unfold, the Parma Ham Consortium, instead of focusing on animal welfare or on reviving consumption of Parma Ham, has chosen to set up a museum using PNRR funds.

It should also be remembered that other scandals have involved pig farms, including La Pellegrina, part of the AIA Group, as well as Cascone and Bervini.

Animal abuse also concerns other species, such as turkeys.

Below: rats at La Pellegrina, AIA.