The Council of State has made a sensational decision, upholding the appeal of a young breeder and halting the culling of healthy animals because they "no longer meet the precautionary purpose," the ruling states.
"Why do all the bosses have to be slaughtered even if they're in good shape?" Giovanna Monni said on July 20th to Videolina.
The breeder went all the way to prevent the slaughter of the remaining 140 animals on her family's farm, after the first 40. And the Council of State agreed with her, overturning the Nuoro Local Health Authority, the Region, and the Ministry of Health, which had filed suit.
The animals ordered to be put down are "healthy, vaccinated, and asymptomatic." Therefore , the ruling states, "the culling no longer meets the precautionary objectives pursued by European legislation."
The animals will be tested again; the previous tests were contested in the farm's appeal. They will be conducted by the Animal Health Institute of Piedmont, Liguria, and Valle d'Aosta. Results are expected in two months; on January 22nd, the Council of State will meet again to announce the results of the tests .
Lawyer Raffaele Soddu , representing the farm, emphasizes the two aspects that convinced the CDS to halt the culling: "First, the criticalities of the diagnostic method used in Teramo, significantly, the fact that the tests are being performed in another facility . And then the principle of subsequently confirmed illegitimacy: an initially legitimate fact can become illegitimate when the factual situation changes over time . The cattle are healthy, vaccinated, and there is no risk of contagion."
(Unioneonline)
