Avícola Ballester will undertake legal actions against the animalist entities that have denounced the Mirabò farm

ManacorAvícola Ballester will take legal action against ARDE and Satya Animal, the entities that have reported the conditions of the hens at the Mirabò farm in Manacor to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The company rejects the accusations and maintains that it has not been proven that the images disseminated by the entities were recorded at the farm. According to their version, it is up to the complainants to prove their origin and geolocation.

The Ministry of Agriculture inspected the farm this Tuesday, hours after the animal rights activists' complaint was made public. Sources from the company state that the inspectors also visited the company's other two farms and that they “did not find anything anomalous” or any non-compliance. The Government had confirmed that it had sent technicians to Mirabò and that it would assess whether the images could justify opening administrative proceedings.

The company asserts that the images are not “plausible” as proof of what happens at Mirabò and questions the fact that they were obtained clandestinely. They maintain that, to enter the sheds, one must pass through a disinfection point and wear protective clothing, and they state that entry without respecting the protocols could compromise the farm's biosecurity.

ARDE and Satya Animal, on the other hand, state that the images were recorded at the Mirabò sheds during an investigation carried out in July. The entities report dead hens in decomposition, injured animals, eggs with mites, and a high presence of insects. They have reported the facts to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry. However, sources from the company claim to have no knowledge that the complaint has reached the Public Prosecutor's Office and consider that the accusations are part of a pressure campaign linked to the Son Brau project, which plans to build two sheds with a capacity for 80,000 hens.

Withdrawal of eggs from the market

Meanwhile, ARDE and Satya Animal have asked the Ministry of Health to withdraw eggs from the Mirabò farm from the market and to issue a health alert due to a possible salmonella risk. On Wednesday, the organizations sent a written request to the Directorate General of Public Health, accompanied by the veterinary expert report that they have also included in the complaint filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The two organizations warn that in August 2025, a salmonella outbreak was detected in one of the farm's two sheds. As explained by the Minister of Agriculture, Joan Simonet, at that time it was authorized for the eggs from that shed to be used for producing liquid egg, while the other continued to supply supermarkets. The entities believe there is a risk that the bacteria may have spread from one shed to the other. "It is highly probable that the salmonella present in one of the sheds has passed to the other," stated the spokesperson for Satya Animal, Kike Gimeno.

The report, drafted by veterinarian Alba Nieto Palau, a member of the Official College of Veterinarians of Barcelona, maintains that the presence of decomposing carcasses in contact with live animals can facilitate the transmission of infectious agents. It also points out that mites and other arthropods can act as vectors for pathogens between batches of hens and compromise the farm's biosecurity. According to the organizations, the released images also show infestations of mites and cockroaches and the presence of cats in the area around the sheds.

Gimeno has criticized the Director General of Public Health for not having ordered the withdrawal of the eggs or alerted consumers. The organizations maintain that the documented conditions pose a risk to public health; the Ministry of Health has not yet communicated any decision regarding the request.