Animal markets and the slaughter of certain animals at home are being banned as Flanders updates 40-year-old animal welfare legislation. The new Flemish Animal Welfare Codex gathers existing and new regulations in an attempt to improve the protection of animals.
Blood sports including ‘goose pulling’ and attempting to decapitate roosters will in future only be allowed using animals that died a natural death. ‘Goose pulling’ used to involve hanging a goose with a greased head from a beam and getting somebody on horseback to try and pull its head off. Consuming live fish is now also being banned. The sale of animals on a market or on the public highway is also banned. Sheep, goats and pigs can no longer be slaughtered at home either any more.
These are only some of the raft of new measures that Flemish animal welfare minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) has brought together in the new Animal Welfare Codex that replaces what the minister called the "outdated Animal Welfare Act", which originated almost 40 years old.
"For the first time, animals are officially being recognised as living beings with feelings, specific needs and intrinsic value. It follows that they must be properly protected. The Flemish Codex greatly expands that protection. We have literally completely rewritten the code" Minister Weyts notes
Every police zone will now get a designated animal welfare officer. In this way animal welfare will be monitored more closely. Chicken farms will have to give animals even more space. A complete switch from chicken in cages to free-range aviary systems will have to be made.
There will also be stricter rules for dolphinariums. This will affect the Boudewijn Sea Park in Bruges, the only dolphinarium in Flanders. It will be allowed to have a maximum of six dolphins. That's the number the park has at the minute. If one of these dies, the park will be allowed to replace it on condition it improves welfare and provides an outdoor pool from 1 January 2027 onwards.