The facility lies midway between Munich’s city center and its international airport, roughly 23 miles to the north. From the outside, it still looks like the state-run farm it once was, but peer through the windows of the old farmhouse and you’ll see rooms stuffed with cutting-edge laboratory equipment.
In a newer building at the back of the farm, Barbara Kessler pulls off her sneakers and sprays her bare feet and hands with antiseptic. The wiry veterinarian steps over a taped line in the shower room, leaving behind everything she can from the outside world: clothes, watch, earrings. She scrubs her body and hair—a buzz cut, so it’s easier to manage these frequent washings.
Image: The black-spotted piglet was born as a singleton rather than as part of a litter, and its mother had trouble making enough milk for her baby, so he is being raised without her. Piglets need company, so an animal from another litter is now sharing his crate to keep him company. The toys keep them from getting bored. LAETITIA VANCON
