Farmers accused

“Can’t sleep with my pigs”

Two of the three defendants had to stand trial at Wels Regional Court on Wednesday

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Serious accusations were made against an old farmer, his daughter and her partner: some of the pigs on the farm had lived in precarious conditions, had nibbled on each other and had not received medical treatment. No verdict was reached and the 250-page case will have to be heard another time.

Sick pigs in an unsuitable barn, without veterinary treatment, prescribed sick pens, dry lying areas and without measures to prevent cannibalism among the fattening animals. According to the indictment, the conditions on a farm in Sippbachzell were terrible and even led to emergency killings.

Farm had a negative reputation
Three people therefore had to stand trial at Wels Regional Court on Wednesday - the retired old farmer (61), his daughter (32) and her partner (31). The latter was excused due to illness. The couple took over the farm last February. Not an easy undertaking: The father had already had frequent problems with the district authority since 2022 due to conditions in the pig farm. As a result, regular inspections were the order of the day, and most recently an animal husbandry ban was threatened several times - but has not yet become legally binding.

"I've never been in the barn"
Although the daughter is the manager of the farm on paper, there is a clear division of labor: "I was responsible for the business, the fields and for the other animals, i.e. deer, sheep, goats, chickens and rabbits," says the defendant. "My father and partner were responsible for the pigs, but my father then stopped. I always trusted them both. I don't know anything about pigs!"

No problems from 1977 to 2022
Father and daughter both pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. The father sees the problems with the new public health officer: "I've been in the barn since 1977 and there were never any problems with her predecessors," says the old farmer. "Cannibalism back then affected farms all over the country and developed virtually overnight, depending on environmental influences. I can't sleep with the pigs!" He confirms the division of labor: "My daughter never wanted to be in the barn, I accepted that. She has nothing to do with it, she's innocent! I sorted out sick animals from the 400 fattening pigs and 70 breeding pigs at the time and my son-in-law looked after them."

"Cannibalism is not the fault of any farmer"
A witness, who was present at the inspections as a lawyer for the responsible district authority, saw good will: "The third defendant makes a very hard-working impression, he wants to manage the pig fattening and breeding differently to his father-in-law. No farmer can be accused of cannibalism either, as long as something is done about it in good time," said the lawyer.

"Caretakers" also found
However, the witness doubted that the cannibalism injuries discovered had been inflicted during just one night. The last inspection had been very accommodating, as the farm had only been in new hands for such a short time, but proceedings had had to be initiated due to a "caretaker", a piglet that had been left behind.

The official vet was shocked
The official veterinarian was much more critical. She accused the old farmer in particular of having only minimally remedied complaints or not remedied them at all. "Over the years, the same serious shortcomings were repeated time and again," she emphasized. "The veterinarian in charge, the father of the third defendant, was also shocked by the conditions during the inspection in May. I also cannot rule out the possibility that some animals were killed without veterinary certification. The situation there was demotivating even for me as an experienced vet, especially that nothing has improved."

Process without end
That vet was heard as a third witness. A verdict was awaited in vain on Monday: the 250-page case will be heard again on a new date.