Overview

• Investigators in Bavaria have raided the Buckl-Geflügel slaughterhouse, the region's largest laying hen facility, seizing documents and inspecting alleged structural defects.
• Undercover footage from animal rights group ANINOVA reportedly shows employees violently mistreating live hens, prompting criminal investigations by Ansbach authorities.
• Structural failures in the conveyor system are suspected of causing live hens' heads to become caught and torn off, spotlighting safety concerns.
• The Bavarian food safety authority (KBLV) has suspended the facility's operations, imposed strict compliance conditions, and permanently banned implicated staff from live animal areas.
• The closure raises concerns about regional slaughter capacity, as the facility processes over 11 million hens annually, with no comparable alternative in southern Germany.