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Jean-Claude Van Damme is outraged by the result of last week's vote in the Brussels Parliament, about unstunned slaughtering. In a video distributed by animal rights organization GAIA, the Hollywood star calls on the Brussels members of parliament to approve the Brussels ban on unstunned slaughter in plenary session on Friday 17/6, and to put an end to the cruel suffering of animals.
The Walloon government has adopted a draft decree on turkey welfare in farms. The new legislation takes into account the criteria aiming to improve the birds’ welfare as well as production criteria, trying to optimise both approaches.
GAIA and the animals have won yet another victory, as it is now forbidden to use or sell shock collars in Flanders.
This morning 118 members of the European Parliament tabled an oral question, promoted by Niels Fuglsang MEP (S&D, Denmark), in support of the appointment of an EU Commissioner explicitly in charge of animal welfare.
GAIA reveals once again the sordid state of Flemish turkey farms with a brand-new video footage, shot in November 2021. The footage shows thousands of turkeys crowded together, severely weakened, crippled, injured and dying; and even corpses in an advanced state of decomposition.
Following a lengthy legal battle, in December, the CJEU clearly concluded, in response to the preliminary questions by the Belgian Constitutional Court, that the ban on unstunned slaughter is not contrary to European law and that the Flemish ban strikes a fair balance between the right to religious freedom and animal welfare. With this ruling, the Belgian Constitutional Court also confirms the legality of the ban in Flanders and Wallonia.
'With such a substantial increase in the penalties for animal cruelty, Flanders is significantly making up for lost time': GAIA’s President Michel Vandenbosch welcomed the Flemish government's decision at the initiative of the Minister of Animal Welfare, Ben Weyts, who announced the measures. GAIA has also insisted on this. Minister Weyts announced much stricter punishments for citizens and companies who mistreat or neglect animals. Animal abusers can be imprisoned for up to 5 years or even 10 years in case of repeat offenders. 'The Minister of Animal Welfare could hardly send an even stronger signal to the judicial authorities and to society as a whole that animal abuse must not be taken lightly', emphasises Michel Vandenbosch.
Between September and November 2020, a large-scale research[1] project involving drones and frogmen was conducted, commissioned by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) in cooperation with GAIA, at 22 Scottish salmon farms rearing salmon in sea cages on a massive scale. The research reveals an enormous amount of animal suffering: salmon with deformities, diseases, missing eyes, seaweed growing from large open wounds, pieces of flesh and skin eaten away by sea lice, etc.
What is the environmental impact of 1 kilogram of cultivated meat in a commercial production scenario? That question is central to the new study by CE Delft, commissioned by GAIA and The Good Food Institute (GFI). When cultivated meat is produced with renewable energy, the environmental impact is reduced by about 93% compared to beef, by 53% compared to pork and by 29% compared to poultry. “The results are clear,” says Hermes Sanctorum, cultivated meat consultant for GAIA. “If you want to do good for the environment, then you should eat as much plant-based food as possible. If you still want to eat meat, it is best to eat cultivated meat made with green energy: good for the animals and good for the environment. ”
...but this is not due to the policy of the Animal Welfare Minister
The Court of Justice of the European Union issued their judgment regarding the Flemish ban on unstunned slaughter: the European regulation on the killing of animals (1099/2009) allows member states to impose a ban on unstunned slaughter. The Flemish ban on unstunned slaughter does not violate European law nor the freedom of religion.
In a new campaign GAIA calls the three regional animal welfare ministers to ban the live cooking and cutting in half of lobsters. “We want lobsters, at the very least, to be stunned before killing so that they do not have to experience pain,” says GAIA chairman Michel Vandenbosch.
Today, 10 September 2020, Attorney General Hogan’s Opinion was delivered in the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Michel Vandenbosch and Anthony Godfroid, GAIA’s lawyer, were present. In his Opinion, the Attorney General advises to prohibit stunned slaughter of animals on the conditions that (1) slaughter is carried out in accordance with religious rites and (2) slaughter takes place at an European slaughterhouse.
With its new campaign #kangaroosnotshoes, GAIA asks sportswear manufacturer Adidas to stop selling shoes made from kangaroo leather. To achieve this, GAIA is collaborating with The Center for a Humane Economy, Kangaroos Alive and FAADA. The kangaroo hunt is incredibly cruel. "Brands that use kangaroo leather are therefore complicit in a large-scale and vicious massacre," says GAIA president Michel Vandenbosch.
88% of house cats in Belgium are sterilised. This is shown by an Ipsos survey carried out for GAIA[1]. “Encouraging figures”, says GAIA director Ann De Greef. “But we mustn’t forget that despite the legal obligation, in Flanders about 160,775 cats still haven’t been sterilised/castrated, in Brussels 302.441 and in Wallonia 1,321,116.
88% of house cats in Belgium are sterilised. This is shown by an Ipsos survey carried out for GAIA[1]. “Encouraging figures”, says GAIA director Ann De Greef. “But we mustn’t forget that despite the legal obligation, in Flanders about 160,775 cats still haven’t been sterilised/castrated, according to the survey, in Brussels 302.441 and in Wallonia 1.321.116.
Since yesterday, the 18th of May, large-format posters were put up alongside Flemish roads. The slogan “En wanneer mogen zij uit hun kot?” (And when will the lockdown end for them?) aims to remind Ben Weyts (N-VA), the Flemish Minister of Animal Welfare, of his promise to impose a ban on cages for laying hens.
GAIA’s position is clear: it is, besides an analysis of the effects of COVID-19 on human health and the economy, needed to identify the deeper underlying cause of COVID-19 and tackle it. GAIA finds that the World Health Organisation (WHO), as soon as the tidal wave of contamination dies down, must intervene and urge involved countries worldwide to take drastic measures against wet markets, trade in bushmeat and wild caught animals and live cattle transports to third countries (these live transports may spread animal diseases too).
The list of brands and shops that go Fur Free grows longer and longer. e5 mode and Paprika are recent additions to the list. “Consumers are no longer willing to support the suffering of animals,” says GAIA Director Ann De Greef. “Clothing brands are clearly aware of this and ready to take the step to go Fur Free."
Following a week of targeted activity, GAIA successfully convinced Carrefour Belgium, Makro, Cora, Match and eventually Spar (Colruyt Group) to discontinue the sale of kangaroo meat. “We commend the decisions taken by these supermarket chains. By removing kangaroo meat from their shelves, Carrefour Belgium, Cora, Makro, Match and Spar send an important signal to both the government and consumers: there is no room for kangaroo meat in our supermarkets, declares Ann De Greef, GAIA Director. The time has come for parliamentarians to address the unacceptable kangaroo meat sale and demand that the federal minister of Economic Affairs, Nathalie Muylle (CD&V), bans Belgian imports of kangaroo meat.
