The lawsuit brought to Germany’s top court, the Constitutional Court, aims to end the practice of castrating young male piglets without anaesthetic.

The practice is currently scheduled to be outlawed in 2021, but campaigners want the date moved forward.

PETA lawyer Cornelia Ziehm said the group wants the court to recognise that the pigs have “legal personhood”, The Local reports.

However, Mannheim University law professor Jens Buelte said the lawsuit has “little chance of succeeding”.