Gaia Files Criminal Complaint Against Ath Slaughterhouse
Belgian animal rights organization Gaia has filed a criminal complaint with civil party status before the investigating judge in Mons against the Ath slaughterhouse in Hainaut province, demanding a thorough investigation and the immediate closure of the facility. The complaint, filed on June 16, follows the release of covert footage filmed between February and April 2026 that RTBF reports shows severe and repeated cases of animal abuse.
The Allegations
The footage, made public on Tuesday, depicts animals being slaughtered without stunning, bled alive, and subjected to electric shocks — practices that Gaia states violate European and Walloon legislation on animal protection at the time of slaughter. The organization describes these as “practices totally contrary to European and Walloon legislation regarding the protection of animals at the time of their killing.”
“These are repeated stunning failures, acts of brutality and cruelty that recur over several weeks,” said Sébastien de Jonge, Operations Director at Gaia, as quoted by RTBF. “The animals concerned suffer severe suffering, inflicted intentionally.”
Citing “the exceptional gravity of the observed acts, their recurrence over several months, and their structural nature,” Gaia has called on Walloon Animal Welfare Minister Adrien Dolimont (MR) to order the immediate closure of the facility, as The Brussels Times reports.
The Facility and Its Operator
The Ath slaughterhouse was commissioned in 1958 and operated as a municipal facility for nearly 70 years. Since January 2026, it has been run by WapiMeat, a cooperative created in June 2025 by 15 farmers, butchers, and meat sector stakeholders from Wallonie Picarde. The City of Ath entered the cooperative’s capital to support the transition, framing the takeover as preserving a “proximity tool” for local meat production.
Approximately 20,000 sheep are slaughtered annually at Ath — accounting for nearly two-thirds of Wallonia’s ovine slaughter activity. According to DHnet, WapiMeat receives subsidies from several municipalities.
WapiMeat’s Response
Pierre-Etienne Durieux, a consultant for WapiMeat, acknowledged responsibility for three inappropriate practices identified in the footage. “It’s a shock video, which shocked us too,” he told RTBF. “We have shares of responsibility. Across the entire video, we identified 3 practices that are inappropriate, for which we have already taken measures.”
The cooperative argues that much of the footage involves “accident animals” — injured animals requiring specialized protocols — representing less than 1% of cases. WapiMeat claims the pig sequence is a “crude montage” suggesting throat-slitting without stunning, which it denies. The cooperative also states that the abusive use of electrical stimulation was the work of an external operator and a worker who rents the facility one day per week. That worker has been suspended.
Government Response and Gaia’s Criticism
Minister Dolimont has promised a thorough inspection and requested 14 days of surveillance footage from the facility. However, no immediate closure has been ordered — a decision Gaia has strongly criticized.
“While the images filmed by GAIA reveal serious acts of animal abuse, the Walloon Region and the minister choose to leave the facility operational,” Gaia stated on the evening of June 16, as reported by RTBF. “Their reaction? Asking for the surveillance footage of the last 14 days and announcing new inspections. No closure — even temporary — has been ordered.”
The Fugea (farmers’ union) condemned any proven shortcomings and called for broader reflection on the future of slaughterhouses in Wallonia. The City of Ath condemned animal abuse and reserved the right to take “necessary measures.”
Broader Demands and Implications
Gaia is calling for systemic reforms, including mandatory surveillance footage from slaughterhouses to be automatically analyzed by artificial intelligence, with automatic transmission of alerts to competent authorities. The organization also advocates for unannounced inspections multiple times per year at every facility, substantial reinforcement of oversight resources, and genuinely deterrent penalties.
The case highlights significant gaps in enforcement despite mandatory video surveillance and Belgium’s constitutional protection of animal welfare, inscribed in 2023. The AFSCA (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain) had the Ath slaughterhouse under “very close” monitoring, with some untrained slaughterers identified — yet no formal findings of animal abuse were made prior to Gaia’s investigation.
What’s Next
The criminal investigation will determine whether individual prosecutions or action against the cooperative follow. Minister Dolimont faces pressure to decide on a temporary or permanent closure, while the City of Ath, as a shareholder in WapiMeat, may take its own measures. The case could also accelerate broader regulatory changes for Walloon slaughterhouses and strengthen Gaia’s push for AI-based surveillance systems.