Norwegian Food Safety Authority kills 350 cattle, gets sued by farmer, loses court case

A farmer from the Innlandet county won a lawsuit against the Norwegian Food Safety Authority after 350 of his animals were forcibly killed last year.

“This means a lot to my client. His livelihood was destroyed,” the farmer’s lawyer Ingolf Holmen told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).

Last year, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority killed the man’s entire cattle herd.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority believed that the entire herd had to be killed for reasons related to animal health and food safety, partly because the animals were not properly registered.

The Oslo District Court has now concluded that the decision was invalid and must now be revoked.

Wrong assessment?

The court believes, among other things, that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s legal understanding was incorrect and that they did not make a sound assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the decision.

The farmer himself has estimated that the decision cost him around NOK 10 million.

He did not receive compensation for the animals, but the state may now be liable for compensation.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority maintains that it was necessary to kill the animals and is now considering whether to appeal the verdict.