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A ticking time bomb with enormous health risk potential is ready to explode at the foot of Mount Olympus.
A very thorough and risky investigation, carried out between March and May 2026, has brought to light a worrying reality that was previously unknown or, worse, underestimated, especially by the authorities responsible for inspections.
Carcasses abandoned in open pits, injured and untreated animals in often dilapidated structures, are just some of the critical issues uncovered. In most cases, the farms involved are beneficiaries of European and national funds.
Once again, through our taxes, production sites committing serious irregularities and abuses are being financed.
A Glimpse into a Significant Portion of Greece’s Pig Production
The investigation was released exclusively in Italy in collaboration with the Food For Profit network and covers over 25 production sites distributed across various regions of the country. Some of these facilities have received subsidies from the European Regional Development Fund or through the Rural Development Program, with amounts exceeding €200,000. Among those investigated, there are also companies that received tens of thousands of euros from CAP funds 2023-2024.
The material, presented in Greece in collaboration with the organization REthink ANIMALS, was published exclusively in the renowned daily newspaper To Vima (Το Βήμα). It covers areas in four distinct regions (Western Greece, Thessaly, Central Greece, and Central Macedonia), across six regional units (Aetolia-Acarnania, Trikala, Larissa, Boeotia, Euboea, and Pieria).
In terms of quantity and variety, it constitutes, to date, the most detailed and impactful investigation into the state of a large segment of the national pig farming sector.
Several structures were put under the magnifying glass, specifically those supplying the production of gyros, which, along with souvlaki, is considered one of the most popular traditional dishes in Greece. Through our investigative work, we aimed to dig deep, revealing how serious critical issues related to the supply chain lurk behind this gastronomic icon.
Although smaller in size compared to the sheep and goat sector, pig farming still plays a primary role: according to the latest available data, over 729,000 pigs are raised in Greece, located in more than 3,370 sites1. The farming method is concretely and increasingly shifting towards the intensive model. Annual production exceeds 57,000 tons of meat, obtained from the slaughter of over one million pigs2. With these volumes, pork represents the country’s main domestic source of red meat.
A Health Risk Ready to Turn into an Emergency
The most worrying finding concerns carcass disposal. Despite both EU regulations (Regulation EC 1069/20093) and national legislation (Article 15 of Law 4351/20154) being in force in Greece, digging open pits to dump dead animals is a widespread practice in over 90% of the farms investigated.
Often located in hidden areas within or near the farm perimeter, these pits have, in some cases, come to contain hundreds of decomposing carcasses. Left uncovered and without any protection, they remain accessible to both wild and domestic animals.
As documented by the images, the pits were frequently raided by packs of dogs lingering nearby. In one verified case, some of these dogs are clearly seen tearing apart the remains of a pig and dragging pieces near a shed. The bio-sanitary risk is extremely high: any animal coming into contact with such carcasses can vector potential pathogens outside the farm, with consequences that are difficult to control from an epidemiological perspective.
Waste disposal also constitutes a critical issue. In many of the investigated sites, storage tanks lack adequate protection to prevent slurry from infiltrating the soil; in some cases, this directly contaminates nearby watercourses. This situation exposes groundwater, additional rivers, and streams in the vicinity to concrete risks.
There are also other documented cases where slurry overflows into surrounding lands and areas due to a lack of adequate protection. All of this represents a violation of what is established by Greek legislation on the matter5.
The location of these structures exacerbates the risks: one of the farms investigated in Aetolia-Acarnania is located near residential settlements and less than a kilometer from a large public hospital. In another case, a site, also located in the same regional unit and with the same critical issues, is less than two kilometers from a town and about two and a half from a lake.
Severely Injured Animals Left Untreated. Pens Covered in Waste. Cockroaches and Rodents. Yet Farmers Continue to Receive Funding.
Regarding the farm near the hospital, it was possible to obtain footage from inside, revealing the state of the housing facilities: dilapidated and dirty, with rodents and cockroaches present in the pens alongside the animals. Various critical issues were also detected concerning animal welfare. Several piglets suffer from severe, untreated skin infections. Meanwhile, in the gestation area, some sows present lacerations caused by confinement in crates and the consequent rubbing against metal walls.
The situation inside other farms subject to the investigation is no better: dilapidated premises, infestations of cockroaches, rodents, and flies, and injured animals left without care. It seems truly impossible to believe that many of these production sites are subsidized with public funds.
Some of the most serious evidence concerns a farm located in the regional unit of Trikala, where the impact of the livestock industry is highly critical; suffice it to say that around the small town of Fiki, there are over 20 pig farms within a radius of less than five kilometers. Animal management within the site is problematic. There are several piglets with severe, untreated anal prolapses confined in spaces inadequate for their condition. Furthermore, the entire area appears infested with flies. Various types of drugs were identified, including antibiotics, hormones, and stimulants, which are generally used to ensure the efficiency of industrial reproductive cycles is maintained. In the fattening section, numerous pigs have severe eye infections and umbilical hernias, apparently untreated, all managed within very dirty enclosures.
Skin or eye infections were found to be quite frequent in other investigated farms as well. These issues are linked to the animals’ housing conditions, which, as evidenced by the collected images, are in a critical hygienic state.
OPEKEPE Awarded Millions in Subsidies to Non-Existent Farms
During the same period in which this investigation uncovered these serious irregularities, another inquiry lifted the lid on a million-euro scam at the expense of European taxpayers.
At the center of it all is OPEKEPE, the Greek state agency responsible for distributing EU funds and, crucially, for carrying out inspections on beneficiary facilities. The agency was recently dismantled by the government, after the European Commission imposed a massive fine of nearly €400 million on Greece last year for fraud6.
According to investigations carried out by the EPPO (the European body tasked with investigating financial crimes against the EU), hundreds of Greek citizens allegedly obtained illicit subsidies by declaring non-existent agricultural activities and pastures7. According to the EPPO, this involved millions of euros that applicants accessed thanks to the collusion of several OPEKEPE officials and certain ministers belonging, in particular, to the conservative party New Democracy, which has governed Greece since 2019.
Those officials and managers within OPEKEPE who had noticed the irregularities and requested explanations regarding the management of subsidies were allegedly removed from their posts. Several such cases are reported, including those of three of the state agency’s presidents.
The Ties Between OPEKEPE and the Current National Government
Political connections reached the highest levels of the State. Last April, Prime Minister Mitsotakis decided on a cabinet reshuffle after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office put several members of the governing party under the magnifying glass, as they appear to be involved in the scandal. Meanwhile, the Ministers of Rural Development, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, and the Deputy Minister of Health have resigned8.
We ask ourselves: what will happen after these discoveries? How much more is there to know about the involvement of authorities and institutional figures in the facts uncovered? Will controversial producers, like those investigated, be allowed to continue receiving public funds to fuel an authentic spiral of lies?
The hope is that, following these findings, they will no longer be able to hide in the shadow of mass graves of animal carcasses and on lands constantly poisoned by the consequences of their actions.
The renowned national daily To Vima broke the news exclusively in Greece, keeping the story on its homepage for several hours. It achieved significant visibility and was subsequently picked up by other national outlets.
Journalist Anastasia Vaitsopoulo, the reporter behind the exclusive for To Vima, discovered that since November 2021, a program subsidized by the regions titled “Collection, management, and incineration of dead animals…” has been in effect. The company KAFSIS is the contractor for this program across many regions of Greece.
Ioannis Bouras, President of the Hellenic Association of Pig Breeders, interviewed by journalist Anastasia Vaitsopoulo, provided his version of events regarding the issue of illegally disposed carcasses: “Animal diseases have increased in recent years. This hesitation sometimes leads us to refuse to hand over our animals to these companies. Most of us do, but sometimes someone can rightly say: ‘I will not allow a truck loaded with dead animals to enter my facility when we do not know the cause of their death.’ All of us who raise animals are in a state of emergency”.
The Veterinary Directorate of the Region of Thessaly assured that inspections of the facilities were carried out regularly and that nothing critical was detected. Here is the statement released to To Vima: “In the last six months, we have inspected almost all pig farms in the Region of Thessaly and have not identified such practices in the management of dead animals”.
Media coverage across Greek territory included the publication of about a dozen articles and radio broadcasts on various national media outlets.
As of now, no official reactions or clarifying responses have been received from the competent authorities. However, an urgent request for information regarding the investigated sites was received from the regional authorities of Thessaly and Western Greece, to which adequate responses were provided.