Higher Regional Court OldenburgTuesday morning, a green residential area. You can well imagine that negotiations here normally take place in peace and quiet. This morning around 250 people gathered in front of the entrance. They have drums, guitars and a megaphone. They hold cardboard signs in the air, some of which show pigs: “Ban CO₂ anesthesia!”, “Torturous anesthesia in the gas shaft for consumption!”, “Every breath burns!”, “The pictures remain public!”
The pictures are what we’re talking about today. They can be seen on Instagram, in several media reports. They show pigs that are anesthetized with CO₂ in a so-called paternoster system. In metal cages, the animals are driven down into a shaft filled with the gas, their bodies collide against each other, you first see them struggling in panic, then falling over and lying there. A deafening screech can be heard in the published videos.