Tuščios narvai protests VMVT over piglet castration practices

The animal welfare organization ‘Tuščios narvai’ held a protest in Vilnius outside the State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT) headquarters. The demonstration coincided with the agency’s first conference on farm animal welfare.

Protesters played recordings of piglet squeals during castration to draw attention to their cause. Gabrielė Vaitkevičiūtė, head of ‘Tuščios narvai’, criticized the VMVT for failing to address the issue of castrating piglets without anesthesia, a request the organization has been making for eighteen months.

Vaitkevičiūtė accused the agency and its director, Audronė Mikalauskienė, of inaction and lack of transparency, stating that the agency has ignored previous protests and failed to release findings from working groups. The organization stated that protests will continue until the practice is banned.