Data-driven research from AGtivist has, for the first time, identified and mapped these industrial farms across Europe, revealing that the EU has 10,862 chicken megafarms with at least 40,000 birds each (raised for both meat and egg production) and 8,854 intensive pig farms with at least 2,000 pigs each (2,547 for breeding pigs). In the last ten years, 2,746 new megafarms began operations in the EU.
This means the EU hosts at least 22,263 chicken and pig megafarms, containing over 516 million animals in intensive conditions. These figures illustrate the scale of an uncontrolled agricultural model that, far from decreasing, is rapidly expanding. In this context, Spain leads the expansion: 1,237 new industrial farms opened in our country in the last decade (out of ~3,000 in the EU), and between 2014-2023 it obtained 1,385 permits for megafarms (the highest number in the EU).
Spain's situation is even more critical in the pig sector. With 2,580 fattening farms and 821 breeding farms, Spain is now the country with the highest number of industrial pig farms in Europe, becoming the continent's top pork producer. By comparison, France leads in poultry megafarms (2,342) while Italy ranks among the top five in both chicken and pig farming.
Multiple investigations have documented the horrors animals endure in these meat factories. In Spain, organizations like AnimaNaturalis have recorded pigs crowded together with cannibalism, gangrene, and untreated wounds. Breeding sows, for example, are kept in metal cages of barely two square meters without space to move, causing extreme physical suffering. Other countries show similar tragedies: in Italy, Essere Animali investigators filmed chickens buried in their own excrement and unable to stand. These official images confirm the inherent cruelty of the intensive model, which denies each animal basic minimum welfare and condemns them to a life of pain.
While millions of animals suffer on farms, the European Commission maintains a concerning silence. The revision of animal welfare legislation has been delayed by over 600 days beyond what was promised. These regulations, two decades old, should have been updated long ago to mandate minimum space requirements, elimination of cages, and improved health controls. Instead, the EU maintains obsolete standards and allows intensive farming to keep growing. As Reineke Hameleers, CEO of Eurogroup for Animals, warns, this report should be "a wake-up call for policymakers in Brussels." It's unacceptable that European institutions fail to act while betraying promises of sustainable and compassionate farming.
What Can You Do?
The severity of this crisis demands social mobilization. Demand that policymakers end this uncontrolled expansion: sign AnimaNaturalis' campaign at FarmedAnimals.org to advocate for farming that respects animals and small-scale farmers. Your signature will help highlight public rejection of megafarms and pressure for laws prioritizing animal welfare, public health, and the future of European rural areas.
"Spain has become the gateway for megafarms in Europe, acting as an uncontrolled and unethical laboratory for intensive exploitation. While authorities look the other way, the industrial livestock lobby keeps expanding at the cost of animal suffering, environmental pollution, and the abandonment of territories vandalized by this industry. It's unacceptable that models destroying our future receive public funding. We demand this madness be stopped and that responsible, transparent, and truly sustainable farming systems be prioritized", states Aïda Gascón, Director of AnimaNaturalis in Spain.
