Last Chance for Animals - 2024 Italian Pig Farm Investigation

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.