A record number of animals were seized last year in a bid to protect them from animal abuse the annual figures from Flemish animal welfare show. On average, 18 reports of animal cruelty were received every single day. On average two reports a day led to an animal seizure.
In 2023, all told, almost 6,800 reports and complaints about animal welfare were received in Flanders. It’s a record number. Following these complaints, just under 6,600 spot checks were carried out. During those checks, 1,500 warnings were issued and over 800 police reports were drawn up.
In 889 cases, animal protection officers or the police proceeded to seize the animals to protect them. That is an average of two a day. In the process, a total of 26,256 animals were taken into protection. All kinds of animals were involved: both domestic and farm animals.
By comparison, in 2022 the total amounted to 6,517 animals. In 2023, the figures are admittedly skewed by one big seizure involving nearly 20,000 chicks that were confiscated. Excluding that seizure, the figures for the total number of animals are in line with the previous earlier.
But compared to a few years ago, there is a large increase in seizures. According to the office of Flemish animal welfare minister Ben Weyts (nationalist/N-VA), animal policy has gained more credibility in recent years, leading people to report animal suffering more readily because something is done about reports of animal abuse.
"People who do not take good care of animals should not be allowed to keep them anymore," Mr Weyts says. "Decisive enforcement is the logical capstone of our animal policy. Things that used to be left unchallenged we no longer tolerate. It is our damned duty to avoid animal suffering that is avoidable."