‘End the Slaughter Age’ petition
A vegan group has launched a mission to garner 1 million signatures to, in short, end the livestock industry - particularly targeting poultry.
The End the Slaughter Age group is seeking to terminate ‘the existence of animal husbandry, for food and other purposes, starting with the slaughter of animals’ and promote the consumption of cell- and plant-based meat.
Should the petition reach its targeted 1 million signatories through the European Citizens Initiative, it would then become a topic for official European Union discussions.
It is important to note that given the radical nature of the campaign and limited take up from traditional media, it may never get to that stage. A 2018 Report found that of the first 67 citizens’ initiatives that were submitted since the ECI’s introduction, just four were successful in reaching the one million milestone. However, it is worth following the petition’s progression.
Despite the group’s incendiary claims of the livestock sector, the EU Commission did however consider that ‘the initiative is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious’ nor ‘not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union’. It is somewhat concerning that the Commission did not regard an attack on meat production as contrary to its values.
The group seems to be primarily driven by climate change activism, claiming “There are ethical alternatives capable of producing the same amount of meat with 99% less greenhouse emissions.”
However, it also targets the working conditions of the ‘illegal working conditions’ of industry, animal welfare, and the risk of zoonotic diseases as reasons to try to destroy the livestock industries.
Now that the campaign has been registered, it must start within 6 months. GMA will continue to provide updates.