Germany: Oldenburg Regional Court rules that secretly recorded footage of CO2 stunning of pigs may not be distributed

Yesterday, the Oldenburg Regional Court sentenced two animal rights activists to pay damages and cease further action for trespassing. The activists took covert video footage to document CO₂ stunning of pigs in a slaughterhouse.  

The court acknowledged that the videos showed the actual conditions at the slaughterhouse. It also recognised that there was considerable public interest in the information, as the specific production process for meat products was largely unknown and there was a discrepancy between reality and consumers' perceptions.   

However, the court ultimately gave greater weight to the interests of the meat company, as the video recordings were the result of unlawful trespassing and CO₂ stunning is a permissible method.  

The decision is not yet final and the convicted animal rights activists have announced that they will appeal.