Last Chance for Animals - 2024 Italian Pig Farm Investigation

ITALY'S PIG FARMING INDUSTRY CALLS INVESTIGATIVE FOOTAGE FAKE

Released December 17, 2024 - LCA’s latest investigation into three Prosciutto di Parma supplier farms managed by Elio Martinelli, President of Assousuini (the Italian pig farmers association), premiered on Italy’s Rai TV’s Report on November 17, 2024. The segment, titled “Il virus e il nemico in casa” (The virus and the enemy at home) highlighted the impact of African Swine Fever on Italian pig farms, the dwindling standards of the Parma Ham industry and showed LCA’s investigative footage. TAKE ACTION HERE.

The day after the Rai Report aired, both Assousuini (the Italian pig farmers association headed by Elio Martinelli) and the Parma Ham Consortium issued statements.

Assousuini condemned the Report, calling it “another example of animal rights propaganda disguised as investigative journalism”. They claimed the footage was edited, dated back several years, and was taken by farmers themselves to notify veterinarians of animal welfare issues. The footage LCA obtained is from April - November 2024. The location of the farms was proven using GPS equipment and dates on newspapers. Dates on farm paperwork inside the barns also proves the footage dates are accurate.

The Parma Ham Consortium statement claimed “the farms in question are not producers of Parma Ham.” LCA’s investigative footage documented Prosciutto di Parma identifying tattoos on the pigs, confirming they are destined for Parma Ham production.

Both statements led Rai’s Report to do a follow-up show that aired a week later on November 24, 2024 titled “Fake Suini” or “‘Fake Pigs.” The Report included an interview with LCA’s Chris DeRose. DeRose refuted the statements from both Assousuini and the Prosciutto di Parma Consortium. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

Both Rai Reports had a viewership of over 4.5 million people.

Dario Buffoli, a Veterinarian who acts as a Consultant for the Italian Judicial Police, supplied expert opinion on the LCA footage supplied to the Rai Rerport. Buffoli stated:

The documented conditions would cause animal suffering.
A worker who killed a piglet appeared to be in violation of Italy's Penal Code, which makes it illegal to kill an animal without a justifiable reason.
Sows sustained pressure sores from being housed in gestation and farrowing crates and while some were treated the vast majority are not.
There should not be pressure sores on the animal, because this is a suffering animal.

LCA has filed a legal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Mantua on the grounds that farm conditions violated animal welfare and administrative laws.

Consumers deserve to know the truth, not the lies spewed from the Italian pig farming industry. The truth is the footage and the suffering of the animals on these pig farms is real.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

TAKE ACTION HERE and urge Whole Foods to stop selling Prosciutto di Parma.

WATCH THE RAI REPORTS FEATURING LCA’S INVESTIGATION

Watch the first Rai Report that aired on 11/17/2024 (with English subtitles).

Watch the follow up Rai Report that aired on 11/24/2024 (with English subtitles).

Read further about our Italian Pig Farm Investigation that was released on December 5, 2024, below.

MORE FARMS, MORE ABUSE: LCA INVESTIGATION EXPOSES MORE PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA SUPPLIER FARMS IN ITALY

Released December 5, 2024 - LCA obtained undercover footage from three more farms that supply the Prosciutto di Parma industry. The footage, filmed between April to November of 2024, depicts a pattern of suffering, neglect, and unsanitary conditions with potential violations of animal welfare and sanitation laws. The footage taken inside these farms will shock you. TAKE ACTION HERE!

Watch and share LCA's investigation video

INVESTIGATION DETAILS

All three farms are located in Northern Italy - one farm is in the province of Cremona, and two are in the province of Mantua. The three farms house a combined total of 7,500 pigs, including 500 sows. All the farms are managed by Elio Martinelli, the President of Assousuini, a national association that advocates for the interests of pig farmers. Martinelli also owns the two farms in Mantua.

All three of the farms supply pigs to the world-renowned Prosciutto di Parma brand, which in 2023 produced 9 million hams.

The footage documents:

Piglets killed by smashing their heads into concrete. Some do not die instantly and suffer in agony.
Pigs engage in cannibalization, which is brought on by stress and poor environmental conditions.
Breeding sows housed in gestation and farrowing crates without room to turn around.
Breeding sows rubbing against gestation and farrowing crate bars cause injuries like pressure sores, wounds and infections.
Piglets and pigs suffer from dermatitis.
Bodies of dead piglets scattered throughout the barn and left in view of sows and other piglets.
Filthy barn conditions, including dirt, cobwebs, dust and rusted materials.
Two barns infested with cockroaches and mice.

In an interview, Martinelli stated that pigs on Italian farms "are healthy and live their lives peacefully without any suffering or stress." The footage LCA obtained, from the pig farms Martinelli manages, shows otherwise.

Martinelli is a vocal critic of animal rights activists. He also advocates against the advancement of animal welfare policies and animal protection legislation. Martinelli opposed a ban on tail docking piglets in the Lombardy region and Assousini blamed the spread of African Swine Fever on animal sanctuaries.

Crates	Tattoo	Tattoo	Dead Piglets


Sores	Sores	Piglets & Mother	Dead Piglet


Sores	Rat & Pig	Rat	Dead Piglet


Dermatitus	Dermatitus	Dead Piglet	Dead Piglets

LCA'S LEGAL COMPLAINT

LCA filed a legal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Mantua on the grounds that conditions documented on the farms violated Italian and administrative laws.

Article 544-bis of the Italian Penal Code regulates the killing of animals and states, "whoever, through cruelty or without necessity, causes the death of an animal is punished with imprisonment" for a period of four months to two years". Twice, LCA's footage documented a worker cruelly killing piglets. In one of the two cases, the piglet did not die instantly and remained in agony for over one minute.

Article 544-ter sets out animal cruelty provisions. It states, "whoever, through cruelty or without necessity, causes injury to an animal or subjects it to torture..." can be punished with imprisonment from three to eighteen months or fines between $5,000 to $30,000 Euros. Penalties can increase by half if these actions cause the death of an animal. LCA's footage documented several sick and injured animals left untreated with wounds and injuries in an advanced state of progression. Many of these animals required veterinary care but appeared to be untreated.

LCA's footage also documented potential violations of administrative laws that set out standards for occupational health, safety, and sanitation. The footage documented pigs cannibalizing each other, abandoned sheds containing asbestos, cockroach infestations, a dead mouse left in contact with a sow, piglet carcasses stored improperly outdoors, and pig carcasses scattered throughout barns.

THE CRUEL PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA INDUSTRY

In 2023, LCA exposed three other pig farms that supply Proosciutto di Parma (learn more about that investigation here). It seems that rampant cruelty and filthy conditions are standard on multiple pig farms across Italy.

The United States is the largest export market for Prosciutto di Parma. During 2023, 725,000 Parma Hams were exported to the United States. Per Prosciutto di Parma's website, major U.S. retailers that sell Prosciutto di Parma include Whole Foods, Costco, Trader Joe's, and Kroeger.

Prosciutto di Parma has an international reputation for high-quality production standards and controls. Consumers assume there are animal welfare controls that govern the entire process, from the animals on the breeding farms to the final product. LCA's footage clearly shows animal suffering on pig farms that supply the Prosciutto di Parma brand.