Published 31/10/2011

Filthy Business is Compassion's campaign spearheading our efforts in Europe to curb and turnaround the growth of factory farming. EU politicians are still getting away with projecting the image of sustainable and humane farming, whilst the fact remains at least 80% of the EU's farm animals are factory farmed.

Furthermore the policies that are forthcoming in the next round of CAP reform do little to address this unsustainable trend.

Filthy Business is not a species-specific campaign but it will zone in on one issue in particular: the money paid to farmers from the CAP and what it should do.

Compassion in World Farming has always campaigned against factory farming throughout its history. Filthy Business will be European-wide, using our wide supporter base throughout the EU. We will be referencing the proven model of higher welfare, sustainable farming that produces high quality food and cares for the environment.

Specifically, we are calling for a percentage of the €55 billion a year, money every family in the EU pays in taxes, to subsidise 'better farming' rather than farming systems that subject animals to a life of misery and pain as well as being damaging to the environment and human health.

Only public pressure can call these policy makers to account.

* Estimated using figured for numbers of farmed animals from Eurostat and FAOSTAT