Overview

• The Bayerische Kontrollbehörde für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen (KBLV) suspended operations at the Buckl-Geflügel plant in Mittelfranken due to suspected animal welfare violations.
• Hidden-camera footage from March and April 2025, provided by the animal rights group Aninova, showed employees strangling, beating, and kicking chickens.
• Buckl-Geflügel, Bavaria's largest hen slaughterhouse, processes approximately 11 million laying hens annually, highlighting systemic risks in large-scale poultry operations.
• The Ansbach State Prosecutor's Office has been notified of suspected violations of animal protection laws, though formal investigations have not yet begun.
• The facility must implement new welfare controls, replace implicated staff, and submit an internal monitoring plan before resuming operations.