Real breeding horrorsWhere cows they were kept in dramatic conditions and some even had to be euthanized due to their now critical state of health. The forest carabinieri discovered it in the territory of the municipality of Montefalco in Umbria and then obtained it from the preliminary investigation judge of the Court of Spoleto at the request of the prosecutor’s office, confiscation of 88 animals.
The investigation began in 2023 with checks by forest carabinieri from Campello sul Clitunno and veterinarians of the local health authority of Umbria 2, who found disturbing sanitary conditions and strong condition malnutrition in animals. The Army found that the cows were “bony and dirty, with their feet buried in about 80cm of litter made up mostly of their faeces, fed only on straw and with no drinking water. It was found thatmortality in the stable, by law not exceeding 4%, 10%. Some were found on the ground unable to get up with bedsores, and at least two of them were ordered to be killed.” Some of the cows also had infection ongoing, with a bacterial load approximately six times higher than the parameters required by law for milk intended for human consumption.
Added to this are a number of violations of animal welfare legislation, from irregularities in the stable registers to the sanitary conditions of the dairy and containers. The veterinary service ordered the owners of the farm on the occasion of the inspection provide as quickly as possible adapt to animal welfare legislation, block the supply of milk intended for human consumption and stop all breeding. Fines of approximately €30,000 were also issued, but a second check carried out at the end of 2023 confirmed that no action was taken.
In short, the conditions of the animals did not change and the situation remained unchanged. Preventive seizures and complaints were therefore initiated. Crimes are keeping animals in conditions incompatible with their nature and causing serious suffering, animal abuse and illicit disposal of the bodies of the deceased.