When discussing the budget, the Party for the Animals called on the minister to ban live cooking. Schouten wants to take the first steps in this regard and is therefore already calling on cooks to kill the animals before they go into the pan. Many cooks already do this with an awl or a knife, but there are still some who prepare the animals in the traditional and therefore painful way.
Motion
Member of Parliament Frank Wassenberg of the Party for the Animals announced a motion asking the House to ban this traditional method of preparation. According to Schouten, a ban takes time because it must be regulated at European level and must be scientifically substantiated. She also wants to see how the killing of the lobsters and crabs can be done most responsibly from the point of view of animal welfare.
It could be years before there is a European ban. That is why Schouten would like cooks to act as if there is already a ban and thus kill the animals before they go into the boiling water. “I want to see how we can ensure that this becomes standard practice in the Netherlands,” said the minister.
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Switzerland
At the moment, live cooking of lobster and crabs is only prohibited in Switzerland. The United Kingdom recently announced that it would bring the animals under the protection of the Animal Welfare Act. This is seen as a first step towards a ban on live cooking here as well.
Reptiles
During the budget discussion, Schouten also announced that she wants to take stronger action against abuses at reptile fairs. She says she can’t ban the exchanges if they follow the rules.
Several parties have pushed for a ban, also because of fears that diseases can be transmitted through these exchanges. But Schouten doesn’t go that far. It did, however, announce that it would like to close earlier if there are abuses, such as illegal trade.
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