Day: October 6, 2021

General News

No surprises as French senators distort anti animal mistreatment law.

No surprises as French senators distort anti animal mistreatment law

1 October 2021FBBNews

After a marathon day finalising the adoption of the ambitious law aiming to reduce pet abandonments and end the use of wild animals in shows, the French Senate significantly weakened the text.

Where the Senate weakens the text adopted by the National Assembly in January:

  • Ban on the sale of animals in pet shops from 2024: the senators are opposed to it, they propose instead to stop displaying the animals in shop windows and to introduce a seven-day reflection period between the purchase and the collection of the animal.
  • Obligation to sterilise stray cats (responsibility of the mayor) in the interests of animal protection, public health and defence of biodiversity measure: the senators cancelled this provision.
  • Ban on the use of wild animals in traveling circuses (5 years after the law was enacted) as well as on bear and wolf “shows”. The Senate reverses these bans and puts the ball back in the government’s court, which will have to issue decrees specifying the target species. The ban would not be set by law but at the discretion of the minister and after the opinion of a commission, which is yet to be established but already seems highly convoluted.  
  • Ban on holding cetaceans in captivity (7 years for dolphins, 2 years for orcas), the Senate is opposed to this measure.

Concurrence between the two chambers:

  • Ban on carousels and pony rides at fairs: the Senate maintains the ban.
  • Reinforcement of penalties for acts of cruelty: the penalty of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of € 30,000 is replaced by a penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a € 45,000 fine (5 years and a € 75,000 fine in the case of acts leading to the death of the animal), the Senate maintains the measure.

The main advances adopted by the senators:

  • The Senate introduced a VAT exemption on veterinary procedures for animals taken in by associations, regardless of whether they have a shelter.
  • Ban on mink farms and other animals raised specifically for their fur: the Senate adopts an immediate ban, as opposed to the National Assembly’s adopted ban “within two years”. 

We cannot be satisfied with this vote which betrays both the spirit of the text adopted by the National Assembly, and the commitments made by Barbara Pompili. The joint committee will have to restore the ambition of the initial proposal so that France can finally catch up with the other EU Member States. This bill is the most ambitious one ever debated in Parliament on animal protection. An exceptional opportunity that must not be missed, especially as this subject, supported by a majority of French citizens, will be at stake in the next elections.Christophe Marie, spokesperson for the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.

Read more at source Fondation Brigitte Bardot

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News

The Belgian Constitutional Court upholds the ban on slaughter without stunning in Flanders and Wallonia.

The Belgian Constitutional Court upholds the ban on slaughter without stunning in Flanders and Wallonia

30 September 2021GAIANews

Today, the Belgian Constitutional Court supported the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) on the ban on animal slaughter without stunning.

Following a lengthy legal battle, last December the CJEU clearly concluded, in response to the preliminary questions by the Belgian Constitutional Court, that Member States are allowed to impose mandatory pre-slaughter stunning. With this ruling, the Belgian Constitutional Court also confirms the legality of the ban in Flanders and Wallonia.

Eurogroup for Animals member GAIA has been leading the campaign for a ban on ritual slaughter without stunning in Belgium for over 25 years. In 2014, 10,000 people marched in Brussels asking for a ban. Finally, in 2017 the Walloon and Flemish decrees prohibited the slaughter of animals without stunning. The bans came into force in 2019 for both regions but were then challenged by several religious organisations on the grounds of freedom of religion. 

The CJEU judgment considered the latest development on reversible stunning as a method that successfully balances the apparently competing values of religious freedom and animal welfare, and it concluded that “the measures contained in the (Flemish) decree allow a fair balance to be struck between the importance attached to animal welfare and the freedom of Jewish and Muslim believers to manifest their religion”.

This brings to an end a lengthy legal battle in favor of the Flemish and Walloon ban, the sole purpose of which is to avoid inflicting scientifically proven and practically avoidable suffering during the killing of animals, with no exception for slaughter carried out in a religious context

commented Michel Vandenbosch, GAIA’s President

To date, the Brussels-Capital Region still permits slaughter without stunning and that’s going to be the next step for GAIA:

Now that the Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of the Flemish and Walloon bans, there is no longer any valid reason to not introduce a total ban in the Brussels-Capital Region too. GAIA urges the Brussels government and parliament to introduce such a ban without further delay

added Vandenbosch.

We congratulate GAIA for their relentless efforts on these bans. Last December we celebrated together an important victory for the animals and we have more reason today to salute the Constitutional Court’s  confirmation. It’s now time for the EU to make it mandatory in the next revision of the Slaughter Regulation

added Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals.

ENDS

Notes

Animal welfare victory: the CJEU ruling confirms Member States right to introduce mandatory pre-slaughter stunning
Position Paper Slaughter without stunning 
Opinion poll on slaughter 
Summary of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case C-336/19
Amicus Curiae on CJEU case
EFSA reiterates that slaughter without stunning should not be practiced

Regards Mark