The animal rights organisation Gaia has filed a formal complaint with a court in Mons against the Ath slaughterhouse in Hainaut, requesting a thorough investigation.
The complaint follows the release of footage, recorded between February and April, showing severe and repeated cases of animal abuse. The video was made public on Tuesday by Gaia.
Citing “the exceptional gravity of the observed acts, their recurrence over several months, and their structural nature,” Gaia has also called on Walloon Animal Welfare Minister Adrien Dolimont to order the immediate closure of the facility.
The footage depicts animals being killed without stunning, being bled alive, and subjected to electric shocks. Gaia states these practices blatantly violate European and Walloon animal protection laws governing slaughter procedures.
Sébastien de Jonge, Gaia’s operations director, described the incidents as repeated failures in stunning, acts of brutality, and deliberate cruelty lasting for weeks. He stressed that the animals affected endure severe suffering inflicted intentionally.
The Ath slaughterhouse, established in 1958, was previously a municipal facility. Since 2026, it has been run by WapiMeat, a cooperative formed in June 2025 by 15 local farmers, butchers, and stakeholders in the meat industry of Wallonie Picarde.
Gaia claims WapiMeat receives subsidies from various municipalities. Processing approximately 20,000 sheep annually, the Ath slaughterhouse accounts for nearly two-thirds of Wallonia’s sheep-slaughtering activities.
The organisation has called for a system where mandatory surveillance footage from slaughterhouses is automatically analysed using artificial intelligence, with alerts sent directly to authorities. It further advocates for unannounced inspections multiple times per year, significant enhancement of oversight measures, and the implementation of genuinely deterrent penalties.
