In the third trial in the so-called Allgäu animal welfare scandal against two employees of the largest dairy farm targeted by inspectors, a surprising verdict was reached on Friday: a 34-year-old Dutch citizen and a 32-year-old German were fined 90 daily rates of 50 euros and 55 daily rates Received 80 euros each for torturous mistreatment of vertebrates. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The proceedings were originally directed against six defendants, two farmers, father and son, and four employees. However, the cases against the two farmers who ran the business with almost 4,000 cattle and two other defendants were separated. For example, the defense lawyers for the company’s bosses had filed claims of bias against judges. The Grand Criminal Chamber of the Memmingen Regional Court under presiding judge Bernhard Lang also imposed the fines for failure to act – the 34-year-old and the 32-year-old therefore failed to have sick animals treated by a veterinarian in a timely manner or at all.
The two defendants fully admitted the allegations and regretted having caused suffering to the cattle. Both now work elsewhere, and both put a heavy burden on their former bosses: they sometimes worked 60 hours a week, sometimes from three in the morning. There were always too few staff in the company and they were constantly being instructed to work to save money. If they wanted to get veterinarians, there would be trouble with the bosses. “My client suffered from the company structure and from the high-handed and unscrupulous management style,” argued the 32-year-old’s defense attorney on the first day of the trial. The court considered these circumstances and the duration of the proceedings to be a mitigating factor in the punishment.
In 2019, animal rights activists uncovered the conditions on this farm and in dairy farms in the surrounding area using covert video cameras. The images and subsequent inspections showed partly catastrophic conditions in which many cows were kept and numerous cows suffered considerably. Cows were kicked and beaten, and in some cases the animals were dragged through the stable with wheel loaders. It is unclear when the proceedings against the remaining defendants and especially against the bosses of the company will follow. The statements of the two convicted former employees have significantly worsened their position.