Sick hens, carcasses reported at Mallorca chicken farm

On Mallorca, inspectors are checking a chicken farm in Manacor after animal welfare groups reported sick hens, carcasses and eggs with mites. Inspectors from the Balearic Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment visited the Maribó estate on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. Arde and Satya Animal had alerted the Balearic prosecutor and the regional livestock department to their findings.

The farm is now empty

The farm’s two sheds can hold around 40,000 hens, but they have been empty since last week, agriculture minister Joan Simonet said. The hens were taken to a slaughterhouse in Murcia with the required permits.

Inspectors are checking the farm and the groups’ images before deciding whether to open administrative proceedings. Operator Avícola Ballester says it is the target of an orchestrated campaign of harassment and misinformation.

Earlier salmonella finding

Officials found salmonella in one of the sheds in August 2025, Simonet said. The farm was then authorised to use its production for liquid egg. Moving hens from the affected shed also required permission; the Murcia slaughterhouse reported that they arrived without incident.

The ministry has no evidence that the salmonella finding harmed consumers’ health, Simonet said. A separate Avícola Ballester plan for a farm with up to 80,000 hens at Son Brau in Manacor remains in the environmental approval process. Simonet said the current inspection does not affect that process.

Topics: Nature & wildlife · Agriculture · Manacor · Llucmajor

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com