On Sunday 27 September 2026 a group of activists entered a sow farm in Markvartice in the Jihlava area to draw attention to conditions in farrowing crates; police removed 24 people from the premises.
On Sunday 27 September 2026 a group of animal rights activists held a protest at a sow farm in the village of Markvartice in the Jihlava area. The activists entered the premises, where they used photographs and banners reading "Legal does not mean moral" to draw attention, by non-violent means, to the conditions in which sows are kept in farrowing crates.[1]
Course of the action
A spokeswoman for the protesters said that the activists chose the Markvartice farm at random as an example of agricultural farms where sows give birth in farrowing crates and cannot move freely in them for several weeks.[1]
The activists also published a set of photographs which, in their view, document conditions on some farms; these images were not connected with Markvartice. Other photographs from the premises showed activists next to pens in which the animals and the surroundings were kept clean.[1]
The activists described conditions in the farrowing crates by saying that the mothers of the piglets are forced to bear large litters and then lie on concrete in a small crate, where they can only lie, stand or sit without being able to turn around, for five weeks, in an environment with excrement and a strong smell.[1]
Police intervention and the farm's response
On Sunday at about 6:50 a.m. a farm attendant alerted a representative of the company to the presence of people in the building who did not want to leave. Company representatives then contacted the police, and several patrols arrived at the site. The activists did not comply with calls to leave the premises, and police eventually removed 24 people from the farm.[1]
A spokeswoman for the farm said that by entering the farrowing house the activists breached the veterinary act, because contact with the animals carries a risk of introducing diseases such as African swine fever. According to her, the farm holds 120 sows, 80 gilts and their piglets.[1]
A police spokeswoman said that all 24 detained people were released after the necessary procedures had been carried out. The people are suspected of a misdemeanour; according to the police, however, it cannot be ruled out that the legal classification will change.[1]
Farm operator
The Markvartice farm is operated by Zemědělská společnost Stará Říše s. r. o.; according to public registers it has 39 partners and farms more than 1,000 hectares of fields and meadows.[1]
Related articles: Jihlava, Markvartice, Police of the Czech Republic
Chronology
- — According to veterinarians, the number of miscarriages among sows increased after activists entered a pig farm in Markvartice. iDNES.cz Jihlavská Drbna
- — Activists entered a sow farm in Markvartice in the Jihlava region to draw attention to farming conditions; police escorted them out of the premises. Deník: Vysočina Deník: Vysočina
- — Activists occupied a pig farm near Telč in the Jihlava area, and police escorted them out of the premises. Novinky.cz Seznam Zprávy
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Additions on the course of the action
According to Seznam Zprávy, more than twenty activists entered the farm, while others protested with banners in front of the company's gate.[2] They entered the premises, where piglets are raised, shortly before 7 a.m.[3] Police first called on the people inside the barn to leave and after about two hours began taking them away in police vehicles one by one.[2] According to the company's representative, the activists endangered the health of the animals by entering the farrowing house.[2] According to Novinky.cz, the management of Zemědělská společnost Stará Říše did not wish to comment on the event.[3]
A spokeswoman for the protest group, who did not wish to give her name, told ČTK that if dogs or cats lived in comparable conditions, far more people would, in her view, protest.[2]
Sources
- iDNES.cz — 27 September 2026
- Seznam Zprávy — 27 September 2026
- Novinky.cz — 27 September 2026