The meat label Beter Leven (better lives) is misleading consumers and needs a complete overhaul, several animal rights groups have told the AD newspaper.
The label, which consists of one, two or three stars, was developed by animal protection group Dierenbescherming but does little more “than make meat eaters feel better about themselves”, the paper said after an investigation.
Animals producing one-star meat are supposed to have a little more room and things to do than those on unregulated factory farms. Two star animals can go outside and three star are either organic or kept in an animal-centric system.
But, according to Niko Koffeman, chairman of wildlife protection group Faunabescherming, the system rests on ‘marginal welfare improvements” and wrongly gives the impression the meat is raised in an animal-friendly setting.
In reality, the animals are “locked in, exploited and slaughtered in a most gruesome manner,” he said.
Campaign group Animal Heroes said the label is, however, leading to a change in mentality. “As long as people eat meat we should cherish every improvement, no matter how small,” spokeswoman Mony de Roos told the paper.
Varkens in Nood (pigs in need) said it did not want to stop use of the label either but expressed major doubts about the “one star” system. “When it comes to pigs, it is pretty standard in factory farming. Tails are still burnt off, sows are confined to cages. That is nothing to do with a quality label.”
Militant campaign group Animal Rights, however, says people use the labeling system as an excuse to continue eating meat and dairy. The label’s inventor Dierenbescherming is on the wrong side of the debate, the organisation says. “They have become part of the livestock industry and that conflicts with the interest of animals. They only protect dogs and cats.”
Dierenbescherming told the paper it had no intention of stopping with the label but that it is assessing what improvements could be made to the criteria for inclusion. “Questioning the label is protecting the mainstream livestock industry,” the organisation said. “They can happily go on their way producing mainstream, animal-unfriendly meat.”
The label has been often criticised since it was introduced in 2007 and in 2021 the advertising standards authority ordered a radio advert by Dierenbescherming to promote “three star beef” off air for being misleading.
Recent research by national statistics agency CBS showed that just 5% of the population eat no meat but the number of people eating vegetarian meals regularly has gone up. One in four meals on Dutch dinner tables is now meat free.
As a new report stresses that Europe is not prepared for rapidly growing risks related to climate change, the EU action plan should include concrete policies that reduce the number of animals farmed for food, prioritising resilient farming practices with higher animal welfare and supporting a shift to plant-based diets.
In response to the publication of the first-ever European Climate Risk Assessment by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which analysed the risks of climate change in the EU and the areas which need to be imminently addressed, the European Commission (EC) has issued a Communication putting forward suggestions for actions in six impact clusters, among which are ecosystems and food.
Among the most severe risks that Europe is facing are the ones related to crop production: two-thirds of the EU’s agricultural land is used for animal production, of which most is for the production of crops for intensively farmed animals. Future-proof and nature based solutions can only be achieved by raising fewer animals with higher welfare conditions. This is supported by a Harvard Law School study, published today, that clearly states that emissions from livestock production should fall rapidly as of 2025.
While the EEA report clearly highlights that current EU policies fail to address climate risks effectively, the future of important EU legislative commitments that would improve resilience, such as the revision of the animal welfare legislation and the sustainable food systems framework, remain uncertain.
The EC Communication recognises that actions towards sustainable agriculture and fishing will not be enough to address climate risks, and there is a need for long-term policies that support dietary shifts, making healthy and sustainable food affordable and accessible. It is therefore disappointing that the recently published 2040 climate target does not sufficiently recognise the role of shifting diets, or the significant impact of agricultural emissions from animal farming.
With growing evidence that systematic shifts are required to address climate risks to food production, ecosystems and health, increased EU efforts and binding policies that can support this transition are imperative.
Repeatedly, science shows us that maintaining the status quo is not an option. Only by raising fewer animals with higher welfare conditions and creating food environments that support dietary shifts can the EU truly address imminent climate risks. Unfortunately the proposed derogations in the CAP’s environmental measures will lead us further away from climate change adaptation and resilience. To support the transition and investments in future-proof solutions, the EC must come forward with the promised legislative proposals on animal welfare and the framework for sustainable food systems, without further delays.
Camilla Björkbom, Food Policy Political Adviser, Eurogroup for Animals.
In the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly inseminated to stay pregnant in order to produce milk. Their calves are considered by-products, and are taken from their mothers to be reared in lonely environments. Each year, over 300,000 calves are raised and slaughtered in Belgium.
GAIA’s campaign dives into the Belgian dairy industry, revealing how calves are badly treated, isolated, and reared in unhygienic and depressing conditions.
Their video provides a glimpse of some of the biggest problems faced by calves:
Taken from their mothers only a few hours after birth, causing intense emotional distress to both mother and child
Locked in tiny, individual pens for the first weeks of their lives, where they have barely any room to play, exercise, or interact with others
Transported to fattening sheds two weeks after being born, while their immune systems are still vulnerable
Fed unbalanced diets, causing sickness and digestive issues which then contributes to a filthy environment due to the amount of waste produced
Though cows have a life expectancy of around twenty years, a huge number of calves in Belgium’s dairy sector are sent to slaughter when they are only between the ages of six to eight months, cutting their lives incredibly short.
Some are killed in Belgium, while others are transported abroad to be fattened and slaughtered – but around 12% of them die even before they reach the slaughterhouse, exceeding the average mortality rate for all livestock combined (3 – 5%), according to GAIA.
In Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, organic farmers let calves stay with their mothers, or “foster cows”, for much longer periods than those allowed in Belgian factory farms – sometimes several months.
Change could also be inspired in the industry if there was a widespread dietary shift across Europe, which would have numerous knock-on benefits for animals, people and the planet in Member States and beyond.
GAIA’s campaign re-emphasises further the critical need for the European Commission to deliver the full revision to the animal welfare legislation. Current laws for animal welfare are vague, unenforceable and outdated, allowing for farming practices such as those explored above that cause countless sentient beings to suffer. We need species-specific laws in place for all sentient beings to ensure their welfare.
The fate of the EU’s animals rests with its policy-makers… so it’s important that those elected to the European Commission this year care about their welfare! Tell your local candidates that you’ll be voting for those committed to animal protection here.
As part of the evaluation for a ban on fur farming following the successful European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe, representatives of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety will visit Finnish fur farms between 8 – 15 March.
The visits are part of a wider fact-finding mission on pandemic preparedness and control, with a focus on non-foodborne zoonotic disease agents.
Photo – Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsallianses / We Animals Media
They aim to collect and assess information on the level of surveillance in mink farms for zoonotic infections with zoonotic agents such as SARS-CoV2 and avian influenza. The visits may also include a review of the animal welfare conditions.
These assessments of public health and animal welfare are part of the follow up on the European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe, where over 1.5 million European citizens called for a EU wide ban on fur farming and the sale of farmed fur products due to animal cruelty and public safety risks.
Finland is one of the EU’s biggest fur producing countries, and avian influenza spread widely in the country in 2023, on 71 of 400 farms.
Some organisations have criticised the timing of the visits during breeding season, where the farms will be void of young animals being reared for the next season, as breeding animals will typically give birth from May.
The visits are also pre-announced, giving farmers the opportunity to present the best possible conditions to inspectors.
Even when visiting these farms under the best possible conditions, inspectors will be able to see how standard housing on fur farms fails to meet the behavioural needs of wild animals such as mink and foxes.
A typical mink cage on European fur farms has a floor area of only 4 sheets of A4 paper, and denies the animals the opportunity to perform natural behaviours such as swimming, climbing and jumping.
Mink and foxes are also solitary animals who would choose to live alone in their natural habitats, whereas fur farms see them housed in rows of cages in extremely close proximity.
The Fur Free Europe network awaits news on the outcomes of these visits, which we expect to support the need to move ahead with an outright ban on farming animals for their fur in the European Union.
Animal rights activists claim pig cruelty in undercover investigation
An undercover investigation on two Irish pig farms by animal rights activists has shown what they claim is “severe animal cruelty, neglect and environmental pollution”.
The footage purportedly taken in January 2024, was presented by Animal Rebellion Ireland (ARI) and the National Animal Rights Association (NARA) which said the farms were chosen “at random”.
Source: Animal Rebellion Ireland (ARI) and the National Animal Rights Association (NARA)
The activists said their footage shows pigs in “coffin-like confinement”, pigs with “docked tails”, “seemingly untreated wounds and injuries”, and “dead pigs left piled up outside”.
The footage was given to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), from which the campaigners say they are now “awaiting a response”.
“We want the entire pig industry shut down, and not over a lengthy transitional period. It needs to be shut down immediately,” NARA spokesperson, Laura Broxson said.
One of the pig farms investigated housed between 9,000-12,000 pigs, according to Animal Rebellion Ireland representative, Becky Jenkins, who said “this investigation is the first of many”.
“There were many pigs and piglets sick and injured. Some were biting the bars of their pens repeatedly, which is a stress-induced stereotypical behaviour,” Broxson said.
“We were expecting it to be bad, but we were not fully prepared for the horrors we witnessed,” the spokesperson said and added that there was “nauseating stench of faeces, urine and decay”.
“If dogs and cats were kept in such conditions, there would be national outrage, legal prosecutions, and immediate changes in legislation to prohibit its continuance,” Broxson added.
Attending a press conference organised by the organisations today (Tuesday, March 5), People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said he will raise the matter in the Dáil this week.
L-r: Animal Rebellion Ireland representative, Becky Jenkins; former UK pig industry vet, Dr. Alice Brough; and National Animal Rights Association spokesperson, Laura Broxson at a press conference in Dublin which revealed the footage of pigs.
The DAFM said it will investigate the “alleged breaches” of pig welfare requirements raised by the acitvists “following receipt of any evidence”, and take “appropriate action” where non-compliance or poor welfare is identified.
In a statement provided to Agriland, the DAFM said that it takes any allegations of breaches of animal welfare regulations “extremely seriously”.
“Irish pig farms are subject to national and European pig welfare regulations, and department officials regularly inspect pig farms on that basis.
“The department has a number of initiatives to support improvements in pig welfare, including pig welfare action plans which the pig sector has engaged with.
“And the provision of grants through the department’s [Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes] TAMS programme to support higher-welfare buildings and infrastructure on farms,” the DAFM said.
Diana, over recent weeks we have explored every legal possibility to help the animals on the Bahijah, only to have to accept that their fate rested with the live export regulator in Australia – the Federal Department of Agriculture.
So it’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that, inconceivably, the regulator is allowing the animals to be re-loaded so the ship can once again embark for Israel.
As you know, the decision to grant the exporter an export permit rather than keep the animals in Australia condemns them to another month at sea – and is nothing less than sanctioned animal cruelty.
This map shows the extended route the sheep and cattle will be forced to travel over the next 30+ days – just so they can be killed for their meat in Israel.
This has been like watching a horror movie, Diana. First, the decision to send a shipment of live animals into a conflict zone, then they head for South Africa, and then to not offload them immediately when they returned to Australia – allowing them instead to languish for days in the middle of a Western Australian heatwave.
It has been a true ‘tragedy of errors’ – human errors – and yet, once again, it is the animals who will suffer the consequences.
Our commitment to you Diana, has always been that we will leave no stone unturned when it comes to protecting animals. And I promise you, we haven’t.
Over recent weeks we’ve been part of a monumental collaborative effort, spanning Australia, South Africa and Israel.
We have been communicating in the strongest of terms with the live export regulator – highlighting to them their strong grounds to reject the export permit application.
Yet, they have chosen to approve it – adhering to processes that were not written with the interests of animals at heart.
As you know, this trade has been littered with animal welfare disasters. On each occasion we have honoured these animals by being their voice with our politicians, and that is what we must do again.
That re-loading and shipping these animals once again to Israel was the live export industry’s preferred option, when more humane alternatives exist, presents further evidence as to why this ruthless trade must end.
Their ‘animal welfare’ claims have been brutally and completely exposed as PR spin.
Right now, we are calling on our Australian supporters to ensure every politician here understands the weight of community anguish at this injustice.
We also wanted to thank you Diana, for supporting our efforts from overseas to ensure that the story of the animals on the Bahijah is one of the very final pages of the tragic story that is live animal export.
To mark the RSPCA’s 200 year anniversary, we interview Chris Sherwood, the organisation’s Chief Executive. He tells us about the RSPCA’s unwavering commitment to animal welfare since 1824.
Tell us a bit about the RSPCA and its main battles?
There’s so much to say!
This year is our 200th anniversary – that’s two centuries we’ve been changing laws, attitudes and behaviours towards animals. More than 400 animal welfare laws have passed since we were founded in 1824, and we have literally changed the way we all think, feel and act towards animals.
We’ve fought for animals in homes, laboratories, farms, and the wild, and of course, we’ve rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed countless numbers, while always showing them all the compassion they deserve.
Our landmark anniversary is an amazing time to reflect on all that – and just how much society has changed for animals over the past two centuries. Indeed, I’m so proud that the RSPCA has been at the forefront of many of those changes – from stopping bear baiting and cockfighting shortly after our formation, to championing a Protection of Animals Act in 1911; and campaigning for laws like the Hunting Act 2004 and Animal Welfare Act 2006. But our influence has not just been legislatively. From setting up the RSPCA Fund for Sick & Wounded Horses during the First World War, to responding to the East Coast Flood of the 1950s – and so much more – we’ve been there. Into the 1970s, and the RSPCA Reform Group helped us develop a comprehensive animal welfare policy platform – further shaping how society – all of us – treat and think about animals.
Yet, there is still so much to do. Animals are arguably facing the biggest challenges of our history, through climate change, industrial farming, loss of habitat, the cost of living and the effects of the pandemic. Unless we put animal welfare on the mainstream agenda as one of the most pressing causes of our time, we risk animals lives getting worse, not better.
But we know that we can’t do this alone – we need as many people to join us as possible. So to mark our 200th anniversary this year we launched our million strong movement – we want a million people to join us in our 200th year and beyond, whether that is volunteering, giving their voice to animals or fundraising for us.
In which countries is the RSPCA present?
The RSPCA works in England and Wales – with dedicated staff and a proud network of branches operating in every single community of both nations. But as the world’s first animal charity, we sparked a global movement that spread around the world – so we’re also proud to have links with the animal welfare movement in all corners of the globe.
We have a dedicated international team who take our experiences and expertise of animal welfare in England and Wales all around the world – and have helped inspire and influence change right across Europe, Africa and Asia. We are also proud to be active members of Eurogroup for Animals, and a founding partner of the World Federation for Animals.
From humble beginnings at the Old Slaughter’s Coffee House in Central London in the early 19th century, it’s amazing to think what the RSPCA has gone on to achieve.Image What about you? Tell us a bit more about your role within the RSPCA and why you joined.
It’s been an enormous privilege to serve as the RSPCA’s chief executive since August 2018 – I could not be prouder to lead this fantastic charity for the past nearly six years.
My background is probably not typical of many chief executives – I was the first person in my family to get GCSEs, let alone an A level or undergraduate degree.
Before joining the RSPCA, I spent time as director of innovation and development at leading disability charity Scope, before working in policy and external affairs at Relate – the UK’s leading family and relationships charity – where I was later chief executive.
I’d always wanted to work in the voluntary sector because of my passion for creating a good society – inspired by where I grew up, in a former steel down battling with the social and economic effects of deindustrialisation. For me, a good society is one which is kind, inclusive and compassionate, and where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, not just survive – a better world in which we all take responsibility for our individual and collective impact on each other, on animals and on the planet.
Since becoming CEO at the RSPCA, we’ve of course endured a global pandemic, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and the continued, mounting threat of serious climate change – to name but a few of the challenges at the top of my in-tray, so it has certainly been an incredibly busy and challenging five and a half years.
I am inspired every day by the work of our diverse, dedicated teams – from our frontline officers, to our animal centres, call handlers, science experts, campaigners and so many others; all dedicating themselves to making our world a better one for the animals we share our lives with.
And I think we’ve been making a real difference, from continuing to deliver frontline animal rescue services throughout Covid-19, to supporting people through these difficult economic times, with, among other things, a pet food bank scheme, which delivered 1.5 million meals to needy pets last year. We’ve secured tougher sentences for animal abusers (my proudest moment as CEO) while animal sentience has been recognised in law and we are on the cusp of seeing live exports banned, something we have been campaigning against for more than 50 years.
In 2021, we launched a new strategy Together for Animal Welfare, which set ambitious targets to cut animal neglect in half, see more than half of UK farmed animals reared to RSPCA standards, and secure a UN declaration for animals. It’s ambitious, and we need as many people as possible to support us, and to support the animal welfare cause if we are going to continue to change animals’ lives now and in the future.
We know the RSPCA can’t fix every problem animals face by ourselves – and our response is so much stronger when we work together. But that’s why I see 2024 – our 200th anniversary – as the start of a new chapter in a remarkable story of helping animals; and a chance to transform again how we work together, everyone for every animal, to meet the challenges of the years, decades and centuries to come.https://www.youtube.com/embed/PkyLdSEHVDs?autoplay=0&start=0&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogroupforanimals.orgWhen did the RSPCA join Eurogroup for Animals and why?
We’re the OG! We’ve been involved since the very beginning – some 44 years ago, in 1980!
In fact, the RSPCA founded Eurogroup for Animals – because we know that the animal welfare sector is stronger when it works together and speaks with a united voice. Over more than four decades, we’ve worked closely with our partners and are proud of the campaign successes it has secured for animal welfare.
It’s really important to pay tribute here to our outgoing president Dr Richard Ryder; Eurogroup for Animals was very much his vision; and also to our former director general Peter Davies – who did inspiring work as president.
Since the UK left the European Union, our membership has remained vital as we negotiate the Brexit transition. The European Union remains the UK’s largest market for imports and exports. The UK also left the EU, but not Europe, and we know animal welfare transcends national borders. The ongoing war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for collaboration, and the RSPCA worked with and through Eurogroup for Animals as part of our response to helping animals there.
What are RSPCA’s main campaigning achievements in 2023?
2023 was a really busy year for our campaigns; we saw an incredible 200,000 people sign petitions, write to the UK and Welsh Governments, contact their elected representatives and get their voice heard. We know animal issues are responsible for filling many politicians’ mail bags – and we make no apology for that!
But it was a turbulent year in British politics. We are leading up to an election which polls suggest could lead to a change of UK Government for the first time in 14 years.
And there were challenges, and frustrations, for animal welfare policy. The UK Government sadly dropped its flagship Kept Animals Bill, which was a tough pill to swallow, and we had to mobilise very quickly to ensure lots of very hard work and policy commitments were not lost altogether. We also saw the UK involved with new free trade agreements that failed to include measures to ensure imports met the UK’s higher animal standards. At one point, the list of broken promises from the UK Government for animals was as high as 15 – but fortunately the tide could be turning in favour of animals again.
We’ve seen the fruits of our campaigning continue in recent weeks and months; with restrictions on the keeping of primates as pets, a ban on the live export of animals and new rules around pet theft back on the agenda. In Wales, we successfully campaigned for the UK’s first ban on the use of snares, while glue traps were outlawed too – offering a real lifeline for wild animals. The UK Government also committed to a consultation on mandatory food labelling, which could give millions of people more information than ever before about where the food they eat comes from.Image How can the public act for the RSPCA?
There’s so many ways our supporters can get involved – and help animals.
None of our work for animals would be possible without our amazing supporters and volunteers. We have approximately 16,000 members, and last year more than 7,000 volunteers supported our work. We’re lucky that many people choose to support us – but this year, we want to go even further by inspiring a million-strong movement to come together for animal welfare.
From transporting injured wildlife to rescue centres, to signing and sharing petitions, going into schools and chatting to kids about animals, or taking on a fundraiser for us, there are endless opportunities for people all over England and Wales to help us create a better world for every animal.
And it’s thanks to our kind donors that we can keep our work going. Last year, rates of animal abandonment reached a three-year high, and we’ve seen unprecedented demand on many of our services due to the cost of living crisis. A few pounds really can make all the difference and help keep our rescuers on the road.
Words to live by?
Anyone who follows me on X will know I regularly tweet about cake (carrot cake being my favourite!); so I subscribe to the adage “a party without cake is just a meeting”!
I’m also always inspired by Margaret Mead’s quote – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. It really highlights the power of people. Indeed, many charities start by a group of people coming together who aren’t happy with something in society and want to see it change; that is the story of the RSPCA and from those humble beginnings – a global movement sparked.
And it’s perhaps a bit of a cliche in the animal welfare world now – but it’s always hard to look beyond Mahatma Gandhi’s great quote – “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. As the RSPCA turns 200, we can be proud of the moral progress we’ve seen in this country – but there’s still so much more work for us all to do.
Thanks to everyone who is supporting our Petitions (to English and German Ambassadors) re cat torture in China. You can see both of these directly below this post. Please sign if you have not done so yet, and pass on to all your contacts. Thanks M.
Thank you – this issue is really getting a voice now; and as we say the Chinese government needs to step up to the plate and take action.
Victoria Beckham’s show at Paris Fashion Week has been disrupted by activists from animal rights group Peta. The 49-year-old designer, who found fame in pop group the Spice Girls, showcased her autumn/winter 2024 collection on Friday. The campaigners got up during the show and walked the runway alongside the models while holding up signs saying “viva vegan leather”. Their T-shirts read: “Animals aren’t fabric. Turn your back on animals skins.”
Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the explicit recognition of animal welfare in the scope of the financial aid and calls on the EU to ensure that the Facility will indeed foster improved animal welfare standards in all grants and loans given to the Ukrainian beneficiaries.
On 27 February the European Parliament approved the revision of the EU’s long term budget, which includes the so-called Ukraine Facility mechanism. The Facility mechanism – powered with 50 billion EUR – will be the EU’s main instrument providing financial support to Ukraine until 2027. Importantly, animal welfare is recognised as an objective of the Facility mechanism.
Fostering investments in line with EU animal welfare standards is becoming critical in light of the unconditional and full trade liberalisation between the EU and Ukraine in place since 30 May 2022. This full liberalisation is for now further fuelling intensive animal agriculture in Ukraine with a significant increase of poultry meat and egg imports. Conditioning investments to animal welfare standards has the potential to improve the welfare of millions of animals in Ukraine, ensuring EU citizens’ wishes to protect animals are respected. This will also send the right message to EU producers to accelerate the transition to sustainable methods of production.
Prioritising animal welfare through the Facility will also ease Ukraine’s accession negotiations to the EU by stimulating a sustainable reconstruction of its agricultural system aiming at an alignment with the EU acquis. Ukraine is a big agricultural producer with a large share of it relating to animal products. Using the financial support of the Facility to help Ukraine transition towards more sustainable agricultural methods of production is the only way forward in order to advance Ukraine’s green recovery.
World Animals Voice 