Court dismisses meat industry association's lawsuit against animal welfare organization

The meat industry association filed a lawsuit against the Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) to block a video exposing serious animal welfare violations in slaughterhouses and collection points within the company’s horse meat supply chain.

The video, published in 2022, shows horses arriving at the slaughterhouse in an emaciated condition, being left unsupervised despite their injuries, and being beaten and kicked by workers. A clear case of animal welfare violations.

Court condemns ‘abuse of process’

FEBEV sued the two animal welfare organizations over allegedly ‘false and misleading statements’ in the video. The court ruled that these claims by FEBEV constitute one-sided and unfounded accusations, unsupported by any concrete, tangible, or objective evidence.

The court also ordered FEBEV to pay €12’500 in procedural compensation for its ‘flagrant abuse of process’, marking a further legal defeat for the association, which had previously lost a similar case against the Belgian animal rights group GAIA.

Coordinated SLAPP strategy exposed

During the court hearing, FEBEV admitted that it had coordinated this lawsuit with the Swiss importer Skin Packing , another company that had also sued AWF in both criminal and civil proceedings, both of which were dismissed by the courts.

This coordination is a clear indication of a SLAPP strategy (Strategic lawsuit against public participation), with which large corporations attempt to silence critics and intimidate opponents into yielding due to litigation costs.

Animal welfare organizations repeatedly call on meat importers to stop the import of cruelly produced horse meat from South America, after a series of investigations have revealed serious consequences for animal welfare. More on Animal Rights.

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