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In a slaughterhouse in Selm (Unna district), cows and sheep are said to have been slaughtered with full consciousness for years.

After research by animal rights activists, the district's veterinary authorities are investigating suspected illegal slaughter.

"According to what we know so far, we are investigating the suspicion that there was a line in addition to the regular slaughterhouse in which animals were illegally slaughtered in the early hours of the morning without a corresponding permit," said a spokesman for the Unna district on Wednesday.

Years ago there had been indications of black slaughtering without anesthesia in the courtyard, but later the evidence was missing.

In coordination with the State Office for the Environment, Nature and Consumer Protection (Lanuv), the farm was closed by the authorities last Thursday following information from an animal rights organization.

A spokesman for the Dortmund public prosecutor said on Wednesday that the animal rights activists' videos are still being checked to establish an initial suspicion of violations of animal welfare law.

"Cattle fought for their lives bleeding"

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Images published by the association “Soko Tierschutz” show how the animals are slaughtered while fully conscious.

The workers seem to have a certain routine.

The recordings from covert cameras from the slaughter rooms of the Prott meat center were leaked to the animal rights activists.

Schlachthof Prott is a family business that specializes in slaughtering cows and sheep.

Butcheries and supermarkets are supplied in the region, and some people also pick up the meat at the farm.

Compared to the ARD magazine “Fakt”, the owner stated that he hadn't noticed anything about the slaughter in the early hours of the morning.

"The sheep were brutally slashed and thrown into a heap, cattle fought for their lives bleeding and dangling from the chain and roared in pain," said Friedrich Mülln from "Soko Tierschutz" of the German press agency.

Research has shown that the authorities have known about slaughtering in the company for almost 20 years and have been kept informed about it.

Environment Ministry is informed about the investigation

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In a written report for the state parliament, the Ministry of the Environment also deals with the process: "A first inspection of the video material reveals terrifying film recordings of hanging animals with full consciousness and killing them by cutting their throats without anesthesia."

According to information from the animal rights organization, it is said that this year alone at least 117 sheep and 31 cattle were slaughtered at night outside of regular slaughter times without official slaughter animal and meat inspections.

According to the ministry, in this form of slaughter, according to the "ritual rules of a religious community", the animals are killed with a neck cut without prior stunning.

They die by bleeding to death while still conscious.

"There can be no doubt about the significance of the suffering of animals during slaughter," the report clarifies in principle.

Animal rights activists blame the veterinary office

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The slaughter of animals is illegal in Germany and only possible under strict conditions in exceptional cases.

There are no special permits in North Rhine-Westphalia.

But the Prott slaughterhouse is apparently slaughtered without anesthesia.

In addition, the animal protection association names other legal violations and cruelties: Animals would have to spend the night before slaughter in a killing box and would be woken up with electric shocks in the morning.

The hygienic conditions are also catastrophic.

In addition to the slaughterhouse operator, the animal rights activists blame the veterinary office for the slaughter, as no controls by the office can be seen on the video material.

However, these are mandatory given the size of the slaughterhouse, said Mülln.

And: "Since the Unna veterinary office is now claiming that all slaughterings took place under official control and with anesthesia, the only question that remains is whether total incompetence or bribery is involved."

Volker Meier from the responsible veterinary office in Unna explained the missing controls to “Bild” like this: “Slaughterings have to be registered, which was not the case here.

And we didn't notice anything during the controls. ”The slaughterhouse operator Hubert Prott was also confronted with the allegations in the report.

He said, “I don't know anything about it.

My Turkish employees start at 4 a.m., I don't come until 8 a.m. "

According to its own statement, the animal welfare association filed a criminal complaint on March 18, a few hours after the last video recordings were filmed, and handed over the evidence to the public prosecutor, the police and the ministry.

“Unfortunately, despite repeated appeals, the authorities only acted in the evening, which meant the terrible slaughter death for other animals.

This is a crashing failure of the Unna Veterinary Office and the LANUV (Ministry), because the unbelievable conditions were obvious and well known, "said Mülln.

Schlachthof Prott is the eleventh German company where the animal welfare association, according to its own statement, uncovered violations of animal law.

Nine have already had to be closed.