Markvartice is a village in the Jihlava region with an agricultural complex housing a sow breeding operation. The farm is run by Zemědělská společnost Stará Říše s. r. o., a company with 39 partners farming more than 1,000 hectares of fields and meadows. The complex keeps 120 sows, 80 gilts and their piglets.[1]*
Activists' protest in September 2026
On Sunday 27 September 2026, activists entered the farm in Markvartice to draw attention to the conditions of pig farming in farrowing crates. According to the protesters' spokeswoman, the activists chose the farm at random as representative of other farms where sows give birth in crates in which they have no freedom of movement for several weeks.[1]
At the site the activists used photographs and banners reading "Legal does not mean moral". They also published a set of photographs that, in their words, document conditions on some farms, although these photographs were unrelated to the particular complex in Markvartice. Other pictures showed the activists directly at the pens in Markvartice, where the animals and the surroundings were kept clean.[1]
In their statement the activists described the conditions in farrowing crates as follows: the mothers of the piglets are forced to give birth to large numbers of young and then lie on concrete in a crate in which they cannot turn around or properly see, lick or sniff their young, for a period of five weeks in an environment with a strong smell.[1]
Police intervention
A representative of the farm operator, Pokorná, stated that by entering the farrowing house the activists violated the veterinary act, as there is a risk of African swine fever and other diseases being brought into the farm. She learned of the presence of unknown persons on the premises from a caretaker around 6:50 on Sunday, after which the company contacted the police.[1]
Several police patrols arrived at the site. The activists did not comply with calls to leave the premises, and the police eventually escorted 24 people out of the farm. All detained persons were released after the necessary procedures; they are suspected of misdemeanour conduct, although according to the police a change of legal classification is not ruled out.[1]
Sources
- iDNES.cz — 27 September 2026