Dutch lawmakers reject meat petition

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Dutch lawmakers have rejected the first-ever citizens' initiative in the Netherlands, a campaign to reform livestock farming.

The "stop bad meat" campaign was intended to make livestock farming more animal-friendly and less harmful to the environment, Netherlands Radio reported Friday.

Supporters had collected more than 100,000 signatures, well over the 40,000 required by law, to put the issue before lawmakers under the country's new citizens' initiative procedure.

"We want to get rid of factory farming in the Netherlands," said Wouter van Eck, chairman of Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands. "Many chickens and pigs are kept inside and don't have space. They cannot show their natural behavior, so animal rights are violated."

The Christian Democrats, which traditionally support farmers, argued that the initiative would decimate the agricultural industry, the radio network reported.

Christian Democrat Ger Koopmans said the initiative would lead to the loss of at least 15,000 jobs.

 Related Images
 Related Polls
 Related Trivia
 Celebrity Gossip

Netherlands, Radio, Wouter, NETHERLANDS, BADMEAT,
biz top, biz industry agriculture, Business,