We are delighted that on February 4^th the Council of Ministers in Lebanon approved the country’s first ever animal welfare law.

The campaign for this new legislation has been spearheaded by animal protection group Animals Lebanon.

The law is in the review process at the moment. However, we are encouraged to see that it is set to include regulations on the transport and slaughter of farmed animals.

New legislation in Lebanon

Our Campaigns Officer Pru Elliot says: “This is something we’ve been calling on the Lebanese Government to address since our shocking investigation into the brutal slaughter at the Karantina slaughterhouse in Beirut in 2013.”

An incredible 130,000 of our supporters wrote to the Lebanese Agriculture Minister following our investigation and at the end of 2014 our Chief Policy Advisor, Peter Stevenson, attended meetings with ministers in Beirut to discuss animal welfare at slaughter.

Pru adds: “I’m delighted we were able to support the campaign for new legislation in Lebanon.”                 

What next?

It remains to be seen what the final format of this legislation will be. But, this is none-the-less a revolutionary step forward for animals in Lebanon. We are also hopeful that this will mean better welfare for the European animals that continue to be exported to Lebanon to be slaughtered.