An estimated 250 people protested in Brussels on Sunday against what they describe as the systematic mistreatment of animals in intensive livestock farming.
Animal rights organisation Bite Back, which organised the protest, claims that almost one million animals die daily in Belgium. Anthe Lainé, campaign coordinator at Bite Back, urged the government to implement structural changes, including an immediate halt to subsidies for animal production.
Lainé acknowledged that some political steps have been taken in recent years, such as the revised animal welfare code, increased inspections of livestock farms, and animal welfare workshops by ILVO’s Living Lab Livestock Farming. However, she stated that conditions remain dire. Recent inspection reports reveal that 75% of inspected farms still violate animal welfare standards, barn fires frequently kill dozens to thousands of animals, and recommendations are consistently ignored.
Bite Back argues that voluntary commitments are inadequate and nothing fundamental will change as long as the government continues subsidising the livestock industry with tens of millions of euros each year. The group highlights troubling figures, as according to them 15% of piglets do not reach weaning age, 30% of dairy cattle are moderately or severely lame, 47% of broiler chickens are clearly crippled, and 82% of laying hens suffer a breastbone fracture during their short lives. Furthermore, about 550,000 pigs, 111,000 cattle, 35,000 sheep, and over 2 million chickens die annually before reaching slaughter.
Bite Back advocates for a forward-looking agricultural vision focusing on plant-based nutrition, which avoids animal suffering and has a lower ecological footprint. They call for a stop to investments in systems that exploit animals on an industrial scale and for support for solutions that are ethical and sustainable.
