It’s hard to talk about animal welfare in a slaughterhouse… But the mandatory installation of cameras in some 700 facilities in the country is intended to respond to the concerns of animal organizations.
In Spain, as elsewhere, the latter have alerted the public through shock investigations, hidden camera. Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzón admits that they played a key role in the government’s decision: “It has shaken consciences, those of animal rights organisations, but also ordinary citizens of this country, not to mention the cost in terms of reputation for the majority of the sector, for all those who do their job well.“.
The first concerned do not react too badly to the measure. Ignasi Pons, deputy director of the meat industry organization Fecic, the Entrepreneurial Federation of Meats and Meat Industries, even qualifies this obligation as“positive move”.
“We only want one thing, and that is that with this new regulation, we no longer have to see this kind of image.”
Ignasi Pons, deputy director of the meat industry organizationat franceinfo
“If we get this, then it will be a success, believes the leader of Fecic. Slaughterhouses that do not do their job well are a very small minority. But they damage our image. We are the largest exporter in the EU, so it is up to us to take this step first.“
The owners of the slaughterhouses therefore appear to be voluntary as a whole. And for good reason, answer animal protectors. At the Animalist Party, the head of international relations Ana Bejar demand more from the authorities.
The cameras that install themselves in the mataderos no impedirán that se trituren casi CIEN MIL POLLITOS MACHO AL DÍA en España. Que no nos engañen con medidas cosméticas https://t.co/CKXwCH8zac
— Silvia Barquero (@barquerosb) August 24, 2022
“It’s a step forward, acknowledges Ana Bejar, but this is insufficient. Because this supposed control should be applied to the entire chain of animals intended for consumption. Because it is on the factory farms, on the huge livestock farms, that the animals suffer the most. These measures benefit the meat industry because it will not be easy to obtain a conviction for ill-treatment in a slaughterhouse, but they will be able to restore their image“. There remains to be done to improve the lot of the animals that feed us. Spain, in any case, shows a possible path.