Animal rights party renews bill to ban cruel slaughter methods

The Animal Rights Party PvdD is once again attempting to introduce legislation aimed at banning several inhumane livestock slaughter methods. These methods include electric waterbath stunning, gassing via CO2, and the use of non-stunning techniques. The proposed bill, which was initially introduced in 2025, would also prohibit the sale of cows, pigs, and horses for slaughter during the final third of a pregnancy.

Additionally, the practice of tipping poultry out of crates while they are still conscious would be prohibited under this bill. In 2024, according to figures from the agriculture ministry, 25,895 animals such as cattle, calves, sheep, and goats were slaughtered without stunning for religious reasons. Likewise, during the same period, approximately 10.5 million pigs were slaughtered in abattoirs utilizing CO2 gassing, and over 62.7 million broiler chickens, 4.6 million ducks, and nearly 4,000 turkeys were killed at slaughterhouses employing electric waterbaths.

PvdD MP Esther Ouwehand, who authored the bill, expressed her intention to minimize animal suffering during the slaughtering process. The party first sought to outlaw non-stunning slaughter in 2008, but their efforts were thwarted in the Senate due to concerns over freedom of religion. However, the Council of State ruled in the previous year that a ban would not necessarily conflict with freedom of religion, given European court rulings that allowed for similar bans in Belgium.