Animal Cruelty Allegations Against Chicken Farm Dropped
Prosecutors have ended an animal cruelty investigation against a Storkow chicken farm after finding no proof of mistreatment, despite disturbing footage released by activists.
The public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt (Oder) has closed its investigation into a chicken fattening farm in Storkow, Brandenburg. Officials said there was no sufficient evidence to support claims of animal cruelty made by the animal rights organization Aninova.
The Storkow facility was one of three farms accused of violating animal welfare laws after Aninova released secretly recorded footage in early October. The videos, aired on ARD’s Report Mainz, allegedly showed overcrowded barns, injured and dead birds, and poor living conditions. The recordings came from facilities in Storkow (Oder-Spree district), Stechlin (Oberhavel district), and Mollnitz (Prignitz district).
Following the release, prosecutors in Frankfurt (Oder) and Neuruppin launched separate investigations. In the Storkow case, a special prosecutor for animal welfare reviewed the material and found no evidence of criminal behavior. Senior Public Prosecutor Ricarda Böhme confirmed that the images did not prove violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Investigations into the other two farms are still ongoing.
The case highlights the ongoing tension between animal rights organizations and industrial livestock producers in Germany—where activists continue to call for stricter oversight, while farmers demand fairer assessments of their practices.