It is estimated that around 700 million animals are slaughtered in Italy every year: the fear and suffering experienced by an animal inside any slaughterhouse are beyond imagination. But the suffering of these individuals is, if anything, compounded by operator negligence, the pace imposed by the assembly line, sloppiness and irregularities in stunning practices. These serious abuses are, unfortunately, made possible by a systematic lack of inspections and legislation aimed at severely punishing those who inflict unnecessary suffering on animals in slaughterhouses.

Fear and suffering of animals in slaughterhouses

To give one example, in 2021 the Animal Equality team carried out an investigation inside the Zema S.r.l. slaughterhouse, where — amid mistreatment, systematic violations of animal welfare regulations, and cases of outright cruel killings — around three thousand animals were killed each week. After exposing the horrors taking place at this facility to the public, Animal Equality filed two complaints with the Cremona public prosecutor's office against those responsible for the mistreatment of animals inside the slaughterhouse, and the company owner was called to answer for the actions carried out by himself and other operators.

Two hearings later, however, the Cremona court judge granted him a "probationary suspension", meaning the possibility of having the trial suspended on the condition that he carries out community service. The complaints relating to the inadequacy of the facility — namely the structural issues that in practice made it impossible to carry out slaughter without causing suffering to the animals — were rejected.

This outcome demonstrates once again how the penalties provided for in Italy for crimes against animals are inadequate and insufficient for those guilty of abuse to pay for their cruel crimes. All of this is, however, unacceptable: the protection of animals has been recognised in the Italian Constitution, and it is therefore the duty of our State to ensure it does everything possible to protect the animals that, sadly, still end up in slaughterhouses today. To achieve this, changes are needed — the ones Animal Equality proposes in its petition addressed to the government are:

• The introduction of specific rules to punish mistreatment during the stunning and slaughter phase;
• The mandatory installation of cameras in slaughterhouses as a deterrent against violations;
• The definitive abolition of any exemption from stunning;
• An increase in inspections designed to identify and report to the relevant authorities any form of mistreatment of animals.

These are necessary first steps if we want more justice for all animals, including the millions that still suffer every day as a result of the food industry. Another small step is one that each of us can take: every day, often without thinking about it, we make a series of small decisions about the food we put on our tables, and slaughterhouses and farms are closely connected to all of this.

Recognising that it is we who decide what to eat is the first step towards putting our awareness into practice, and adopting a plant-based diet is essential to helping stop the cruelty and killing of animals. By refusing to purchase animal-derived products, we help reduce demand, which ensures that fewer animals are raised to suffer and die on farms and in slaughterhouses.