“The scandal of downers had already been reported by LAV ten years ago and, in spite of the convictions by several courts and of the Ministerial notes addressing the issue, it is still a shamefully widespread zootechnical practice in our country which causes dozens of thousands of animals to be subject to abuse in the rearing farms, during transport and slaughtering”, this is the hot-headed comment by Roberto Bennati, vice president of LAV on the video-inquiry “Inside the horror slaughterhouse", published today on the website of the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.
We call on the Minister for Health Beatrice Lorenzin to urgently establish an inquiry committee, led by independent inspectors of the veterinary office of the European commission, to investigate the conditions of the animals at the end of their life in rearing farms and slaughterhouses, in order to bring back legality and the respect of the law and animal conditions.
We also ask President of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Maroni, what he intends to demand of the regional veterinary services, to avoid that the phenomenon be simply displaced to a different slaughterhouse, with the same adverse effects on the health of citizens and conditions of the animals.
Finally, we call on the town council of Ghedi to have the town to declare itself an injured party in the legal proceedings against the employees and owner of the slaughterhouse and to have the Mayor, who is the brother-in-law of the owner of the slaughterhouse, revoke the agreement with which the town of Ghedy authorised the slaughterhouse to use the buildings which are owned by the town.