Brussels residents may have recently spotted the Brussels-Capital Region’s yellow, blue and white flags hung up around the city.
The flags are modified with a sheep and a tear of blood, which is engrained into the iris design of the original flag. The iris flower is the symbol of the Belgian capital.
However, the flags are part of a campaign by animal rights activists GAIA called "Capital of Shame".
The group is protesting against the lack of action by the Brussels regional authorities about the 30,000 animals slaughtered each year without stunning in the capital, at the Anderlecht slaughterhouses.
The process can last up to 12 minutes, with the group calling out the suffering faced by these animals.
"With this strong symbol, we are targeting political leaders who shamefully turn a blind eye," said GAIA operations manager Sébastien de Jonge. "The real culprits are those who refuse to act despite the evidence: the 30,000 victims who are dying are not symbolic."
GAIA is calling out the inaction of Brussels parliamentarians, who they say are "quick to legislate on other subjects —rents, low emission zone — but incapable of putting on the agenda the Animal Welfare Code."
The collective denounce that the code, which includes the ban on slaughter without stunning, was tabled nine months ago but nothing has happened since – not helped by the lack of regional government.
However, a theoretical majority exists: MR, Les Engagés, DéFI, Écolo and all the Flemish parties are in favour of it. Only the PS and the PTB oppose it, which GAIA accuses them of doing it for "pure electoral reasons".
Credit: GAIA
An IPSOS poll (September 2024) shows that 76% of Brussels residents support or do not oppose the ban.
On a legal level, all major courts validated the Walloon and Flemish bans, confirming that they did not constitute an attack on freedom of worship.
The measures were found not to be discriminatory, but legitimate, proportional and imperative with regard to the objective: animal welfare.
"This flag symbolises both animal suffering and the scandalous immobility of the Brussels political world. It is time for parliamentarians to wake up and stop giving in to the electoral calculations of the PS and the PTB," said GAIA’s President Michel Vandenbosch.
The organisation is asking people to send an email to the Brussels Parliament
