ATHENS – Greece’s fire service said that a blaze that destroyed an egg factory in Thessaloniki was likely caused by a short circuit, disputing claims by a self-declared eco-militant group that it had burned it down in solidarity with the chickens.

MEGA TV said an initial examination pointed to an electrical problem and that a guard and two drivers who were transporting pallets with egg trays, were present at the scene, and no indication anyone else was, but the probe is ongoing.

An eco-militant organization calling itself the Animal Liberation Front (MAZ) claimed responsibility for the fire that broke out at the egg processing plant in Neochorouda, Thessaloniki operated by Tsakiris Eggs, one of Greece’s biggest.

“We take responsibility for the arson at the Tsakiris family egg production company in the Thessaloniki” the Animal Liberation Front said in its statement, published in an anarchist website, adding “You are not entrepreneurs but murderers of millions of animals.”

“Thousands of animals die every day under deplorable conditions for the taste of their flesh, generating immense profits (In a world where the extermination of the defenseless  is the norm, we refuse to be part of it. We refuse to passively watch the slaughter and fight with fire,” the statement read.

The organization further threatened, “If you rebuild it [the factory], we will burn it down again,” but offered no evidence – no photos or videos – it was behind the fire and how the factory was set ablaze.

In a statement issued a few hours after the fire, the company’s CEO, Pavlos Tsakiris, said the facilities were completely destroyed, including its administration offices, egg packaging, and logistics infrastructure.

He added that the facilities housing the chickens weren’t threatened, as they are located at different sites, no word from the declared environmental avengers didn’t try to set them free instead of going after the eggs.