Successful battle against import of animal suffering from Ukraine

Due to the adoption of a motion by the Party for the Animals, the Dutch government will be forced to resist a deal on chickens between the European Commission and Ukraine. This deal would have allowed Ukraine to export factory-farmed chicken meat to Europe. The lives of these fast-growing chickens are miserable and short. Over a short period of time, they are fattened to the extent that they can barely stand on their legs.

“The Party for the Animals warned that the Association Agreement with Ukraine would lead to massive imports of factory-farmed chicken from Ukraine. Thanks to our sustained opposition, virtually the whole of the Dutch Lower House has now supported my motion in which the Dutch government is urged to slam on the emergency brakes”, Party for the Animals MP Esther Ouwehand explains her success.

The European Commission and Ukraine recently agreed to increase the quantity of chicken meat Ukraine is allowed to export to the EU from 20 million to 70 million kilos. The Netherlands agreed to this chicken deal without the knowledge of the Lower House. Due to the adoption of the Party for the Animals’ motion, the Dutch government will be forced to vote against the chicken deal during the formal vote in Brussels. Moreover, the Netherlands will have to get other European Member States to vote against this deal.

In the last few years, more and more factory farms have emerged in Ukraine, which not only violate human and animal rights, but also cause immense damage to the environment. Ukraine has created a massive livestock industry – largely funded by the West – in which animals are treated even worse than in Dutch factory farms. Animal welfare controls are limited. The Party for the Animals finds it unacceptable to import products which are manufactured without respect for human rights, animal welfare and the environment.