In the summer of 2023, the Aschaffenburg slaughterhouse scandal triggered a wave of outrage not only among animal rights activists: pigs and cattle were treated with electric shockers and animals that were still alive were dismantled. Because two official veterinarians are said to be involved in the violations, they must answer before the Aschaffenburg regional court from today. The accusation: violation of official secrecy.
Two veterinarians charged with betrayal of secrets
The official veterinarians responsible for the Aschaffenburg slaughterhouse at the time are said to have warned the company about unannounced inspections by the Bavarian Food Safety and Veterinary Control Authority (KBLV). The public prosecutor’s office accuses the 50 and 28 year old women of violating official secrecy. The 50-year-old is on trial for five cases of betrayal of secrets, the 28-year-old for one case. The incidents are said to have happened between August 2022 and May 2023.
Warned about controls via WhatsApp
The KBLV carries out unannounced inspections at slaughterhouses. Only the official veterinarians and the responsible employees of the Aschaffenburg public order office and the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) are informed about the date of the appointments. In order not to endanger control, this group of people is limited and is subject to secrecy. The 50-year-old defendant is said to have forwarded the control appointments in a Whatsapp group called “Info Schlachtteam”.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, members of the group included the former managing director of Aschaffenburg Schlachthof GmbH and a cutting plant located on the slaughterhouse property. The 50-year-old is also said to have passed this information on to individuals via WhatsApp chat.
Email to cutting plant on slaughterhouse premises
The 28-year-old veterinarian is said to have forwarded an email from LGL about an unannounced inspection appointment to the owner of the cutting plant so that he could pass it on to those responsible at the Aschaffenburg slaughterhouse. Because the owner is said to have done this, he too is in court today. The public prosecutor’s office accuses the 33-year-old of aiding and abetting the violation of official secrecy. Two days of hearings are scheduled for the trial. The verdict could come as early as tomorrow, Wednesday.
Shocking pictures from “Soko animal protection”
In the summer of 2023, recordings by the animal protection organization “Soko Tierschutz” became public. These showed employees treating pigs and cattle with electric shockers and obviously dismantling living animals. The public prosecutor’s office has therefore begun extensive investigations. This investigation into cruel animal abuse is still ongoing, the public prosecutor’s office said. A conclusion is not expected before the end of 2024 “due to the volume of evidence to be evaluated”.
Slaughtering allowed again after improvements to animal welfare
Due to the filming, the KBLV initially banned the private operator of the slaughterhouse from carrying out slaughtering at the Aschaffenburg slaughterhouse in July 2023. After the slaughterhouse operator replaced the managing director, operations manager and animal welfare officer, provided additional training to its employees in animal welfare issues by external experts and made various changes to the operating processes and technical equipment, the KBLV permitted the slaughter of pigs again in September 2023. The slaughter of cattle is also permitted again.
