• Day-old chicks thrown on the ground, deformities and cannibalism are some of the findings gathered in this investigation, which have been reported to German authorities.
• Equalia has so far published investigative reports into alleged animal abuse at Lidl-linked macro farms in Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria and the UK.
• Lidl chicken supplier Equalia reported in late 2022 is awaiting testimony about alleged crimes of animal abuse and against public health
• Under the petition #LidlEscándaloAnimal, 20 animal protection organizations have collected half a million signatures for the German supermarket chain to improve animal welfare conditions for chickens in its supply chain

Madrid, 26 September 2023. The NGO Equalia today revealed unpublished images on the German macro farm, located in northwestern Germany and linked to a supplier to the German supermarket chain Lidl. The findings have been reported to the German justice system for suspected animal abuse crimes. With this investigative report, there are now 6 investigative reports relating to German supermarket chain suppliers. Equalia together with 20 animal protection organizations is demanding immediate improvements in animal welfare standards Closed in its supply chain through signing the European Chicken Commitment.

The investigative report published by the NGO Equalia today recorded throughout 2022 and 2023 on two poultry farms located in northwestern Germany. On a farm in the municipality of Löningen, in Lower Saxony, it was observed how chicks only a few hours old were suddenly thrown to the ground, which can cause their bones to break. It’s about chickens broiler or macro chicken, a bird that has undergone genetic hybridization to achieve a growth rate 400 times higher than in the mid-20th century.

In the pictures you can see disabled chickens, others unable to walk, as well as a bird suffering from a heart attack alive, dying for hours before finally jumping up and dying. Other birds have unnatural upward curves in their necks. The Löningen farm has a high concentration of dead and rotting chickens.

Birds live alongside dung and corpses, observing cannibalized chickens, where birds peck at other chickens in a state of severe decomposition; and the sick were sacrificed by livestock officers by shaking their necks until they broke. This cervical dislocation, according to the NGO, is contrary to European Union regulations on animal welfare, because it is not carried out quickly but rather within a few minutes, causing unnecessary suffering for the bird.

The researcher said: “I found chickens in different states of decomposition: some had just died, some had been put in buckets to be thrown away, and some were in different stages of decomposition; When you lift the corpse by one of its limbs, you can see how the animal’s decomposing fluids stick to the floor of the bed, which is full of its own feces and waste; others had dried out, their bodies flattened completely. We found a very sick chicken, with deformed legs that couldn’t stand and therefore couldn’t drink from the waterer. For several days we lifted him with our hands so he could drink.”

At a farm in the North Rhine-Westphalia municipality of Stadtlohn, workers from a company linked to one of Germany’s biggest suppliers of Lidl’s own brand of chicken loaded the birds into a slaughterhouse by kicking and throwing them at various animals.

Spanish organization Equalia has denounced the two poultry farms before the German justice system for alleged violations of Germany’s animal protection law, which provides for punishments that involve severe pain or brutal or long-term and repeated suffering. They alleged that the abandonment of chickens at the Löningen farm could amount to an offense of negligence, while the Stadtlohn farm may have engaged in active abuse through degrading treatment during the loading of the birds.

The release of the images is part of a European campaign led by Spanish NGO Equalia and German organization the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, which is calling on Lidl to commit to banning the most cruel practices in the broiler chicken sector in its supply chain. Large supermarkets in Spain already do it, such as El Corte Inglés, Carrefour, Alcampo, Eroski or Aldi. The NGO therefore demands Lidl’s compliance with the European Chicken Commitment, namely a series of measures that reduce the suffering of these birds on farms and slaughterhouses. Some of the key steps in this commitment are breed change to slower growing breeds that show better animal welfare outcomes, lower density of chickens per square meter, access to natural light or more effective stunning in slaughterhouses.

Julia Elizalde, Equalia campaign manager, stated: “The new picture of German farming makes us see that cruelty to chickens is a systematic and standard attitude of Lidl supermarkets, also in the country where the company was born and whose headquarters are located. We demand an immediate commitment from Lidl to end macro-breeding of chickens in its company, in line with its responsibilities to animal welfare and food safety as Europe’s largest supermarket chain and the wishes of the half a million consumers who have signed up to this initiative. ”

Equalia has published reports on farms linked to Lidl suppliers also in Spain, Italy, Austria and the UK. In the case of the Spanish farms reported by the NGO, located in Seville and Tarragona, both lost their Welfair animal welfare seal after the images were published. In turn, the Sevillian livestock management company and the Spanish supermarket supplier Lidl were summoned to testify in court for alleged crimes of mistreatment of animals and against public health.

Raising macro chickens also poses risks to food security. A laboratory study of Lidl brand chicken meat, carried out by the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, revealed that 71% of samples were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This report covers a total of 51 products purchased directly from Lidl in Germany between January and February 2023, ensuring proper cold chain and direct analysis by laboratory staff in the field. In addition, the results of this study also warn of the risks that these resistant bacteria pose to everyone, as they can spread into the environment through wastewater and ventilation systems.

About EQUALIA:

Equalia is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the living conditions of animals intended for consumption with poorer animal welfare standards. Its mission is to reach agreements with companies, institutions and interest groups that positively influence as many animals as possible for consumption.