process
Cruelty to animals in the slaughterhouse – veterinarians are on trial
View of the District Court of Bad Iburg. Because they, as official inspectors, are said to have known about massive animal cruelty at a slaughterhouse, but did nothing about it, two veterinarians have to answer in court. photo
© Friso Gentsch/dpa
The video recordings from a slaughterhouse have caused outrage: sick cattle were pulled from vans or tortured with electric shocks. Even veterinarians should have known about it.
More than four years after the discovery of massive animal welfare violations in a slaughterhouse in Bad Iburg, the legal processing of the crime complex ends on Monday. Two veterinarians working on behalf of the veterinary office have to answer because, as supervisors, they are said to have known about the violations of the Animal Welfare Act, but did nothing to counteract them. In addition, the Oldenburg public prosecutor’s office also accuses them of violating the Animal Food Hygiene Ordinance in this context.
Secret recordings from the slaughterhouse, published by the animal rights organization Soko Tierschutz, got the ball rolling in autumn 2018. The film material showed how old, weak and sick cattle that could not or hardly walk were being pulled from the transport trailers with cable winches.
The business was immediately closed
In some cases, stun guns were also used to scare the sick animals into the holding area. The images had triggered extensive investigations by the Oldenburg public prosecutor’s office. The district of Osnabrück, as the supervisory authority, also closed operations shortly after the recordings were published.
The assessment of the video material, which the public prosecutor consulted with veterinarians, took many months. The investigations led to numerous criminal proceedings against truck drivers, farmers and slaughterhouse employees.
suspended sentence for the manager
The district court’s most recent verdict came in August last year, when the former manager of the slaughterhouse was given a two-year suspended sentence for violating the Animal Welfare Act. Two of his former employees were sentenced to suspended sentences of nine months each. They also had to pay a total of 6,500 euros to the Osnabrück Animal Welfare Association.
In view of these judgments, the animal rights organization Soko Tierschutz had criticized what they saw as the low penalties. Such suspended sentences would not deter, complained board member Friedrich Mülln. According to a court spokesman, further criminal proceedings from the complex are no longer pending.