Being Animals is an animal rights association, which carries out courageous investigations in slaughterhouses and intensive farms. The target? Raise public awareness of the living conditions of animals, e stop the mistreatment. It was its founders who created the first Italian website against animal abuse: https://segnalazioni.essereanimali.org/.
How the first Italian website against animal abuse works
Thanks to the work of Being Animals, it is now possible to report abnormally cases of maltreatment against animals. Just click on "Make a report", and the association will take care of verifying the problem, gathering evidence and taking legal action if it finds any illegality. "On farms, mistreatment and irregularities are widespread. To overcome them, the commitment of all civil society is needed. This project aims to help citizens report crimes they are aware of. Providing law enforcement with concrete clues for targeted interventions”Explained the founders of the first Italian website against animal abuse. The reports, in truth, may not only concern farms but also slaughterhouses, fishing boats and food companies. And, in addition to relating to the mistreatment of animals, they may also concern cases of:
- environmental pollution, and therefore the illegal management of special waste, effluents or animal carcasses
- exploitation of work, in companies that do not respect the rights or safety of workers
- health problems, and therefore the failure to comply with the hygiene rules and the correct management of drugs
- food fraud, with the false declaration of the origin, quality or quantity of a food
Pigs, chickens, hens, turkeys, cows, buffaloes, rabbits, fish, goats, sheep, horsesi: it is possible to report cases of maltreatment of any animal generally present in slaughterhouses and farms. All anonymously. Reporting cases through the website, rather than going directly to the authorities, has an advantage. In fact, in general, the alleged crimes committed in slaughterhouses and farms are considered "secondary" (especially when done by a private individual). Being Animals, on the other hand, has the visibility, experience and authority to take charge of it. And to review all cases, initiating any legal action through an experienced team.
Crimes on farms and in slaughterhouses
In 2020, over 600 million animals were slaughtered in Italy. Hence the need to protect them, and to focus on farm animals rather than on dogs and cats. The Criminal Code, after all, punishes the killing and mistreatment of animals with cruel and / or unnecessary methods. These actions can occur in private contexts but also in slaughterhouses and farms. “We believe that the controls on farms, delegated by the Ministry of Health to the regional ASLs, are few and inefficient. For this reason, our investigative team works firsthand. In recent years, several former workers and people who live near farms have come to us to report alleged crimes. With this new tool, we want to facilitate reporting”Explained Alessandro Ricciuto, lawyer of Be Animals.
However, it is good to know that not all practices that cause suffering on a farm or slaughterhouse are illegal. Examples of mistreatment are irregular killing, without stunning, the excessive density of animals in pens and cages. And then the animals left to die of hunger or thirst, the group slaughtering, the transport with unsuitable means. Recognizing illegality is therefore the first step towards solving the problem. A resolution that, thanks to the first website against animal abuse, is now a little simpler.
