Appalling Animal Cruelty for Parmesan Cheese
Undercover footage reveals horrific conditions in Grana Padano production. Calves are mistreated and kept under catastrophic conditions.
Grana Padano is the most widely consumed cheese in the world with a protected designation of origin (PDO).
129 producers, 153 maturing facilities, and 160 packaging and grating operations are geographically distributed across the regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-South Tyrol, and Piedmont. Switzerland is an important export market with 124,116 units.
Animal cruelty documented
Following the publication of an initial investigation, Essere Animali has released a new video filmed at a different facility. The footage shows dead calves and exposes serious hygienic and sanitary neglect on the part of the farm management.
Our investigations have unfortunately shown that the abuses found in factory farming operations are not isolated incidents. The animals are forced to live in enclosures that are flooded or so covered in excrement that they can barely move. Calves, too, are born into an unhygienic environment.
Simone Montuschi, President of Essere Animali
Demands to the EU
Essere Animali and Eurogroup for Animals are calling for a revision of the current EU animal welfare regulations, to allow contact between calves and their mothers for at least eight weeks after birth and to provide housing that meets the behavioural needs of calves.
«This latest investigation proves once again that in most dairy farms, basic animal welfare standards are not being met — on the contrary, calves and cows are treated as mere commodities», commented Reinke Hameleers, CEO of Eurogroup for Animals.
