Animals in Belgium: media, shelters and animal welfare news

In Belgium, animal news appears in the sections of dailies such as Le Soir, Sudinfo and Het Nieuwsblad, in the farming and pigeon-racing press, and on shelter and regional websites, in French and Dutch, mostly free of charge.

Animal welfare, a regional responsibility since 2014

Since the sixth state reform, animal welfare has fallen to the Regions: Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels each have a minister in charge of the issue. The Belgian press therefore follows three different sets of laws, with separate debates in Namur, Brussels and the Flemish parliament.

The Walloon Animal Welfare Code

Adopted in 2018, the Walloon Animal Welfare Code recognised animals as sentient beings and introduced a permit to keep them. Regional papers such as L'Avenir and the Sudinfo editions, see the Walloon press, regularly cover its inspections and penalties.

Flanders: debates on slaughter and livestock farming

The ban on slaughter without stunning, voted in Flanders in 2017 and then in Wallonia, led to lengthy litigation that reached the Court of Justice of the European Union. De Standaard, HLN and the VRT covered these debates and the positions of religious communities extensively.

GAIA and the animal protection groups

The association GAIA, active since 1992, runs high-profile campaigns against intensive farming and fur. Its slaughterhouse videos have often triggered investigations; journalists nonetheless present these images as campaign material, to be weighed against the responses of operators and the authorities.

Shelters and adoptions in Brussels and Wallonia

Veeweyde in Brussels, the SRPA in Liège and Animaux en Péril post animals for adoption every week on their websites and social media. Local radio stations and the municipal editions of the dailies relay their appeals when pets are abandoned in summer.

Pigeon racing, a very Belgian passion

Belgium remains a stronghold of the racing pigeon, with the Royal Belgian Pigeon Fanciers Federation and auctions followed as far away as China. Race results appear in the specialist press, often in Dutch, and in regional pages of the Flemish press.

Farming press and livestock

Le Sillon belge in Wallonia and the Boerenbond publications in Flanders cover cattle, pig and poultry farming, animal epidemics and European subsidies. They offer a professional perspective on avian flu or bluetongue disease that differs from that of the campaign groups.

Pairi Daiza, Planckendael and the zoos

Panda births at Pairi Daiza in Hainaut, or elephant births at Antwerp Zoo and Planckendael, regularly make the front page. These articles often repeat the parks' press releases, which animal groups sometimes dispute on the grounds that they reject captivity altogether.

Dogs and cats: identification and rules

In Belgium, dogs and cats must be microchipped and registered through DogID and CatID. Dailies regularly publish reminders about cat sterilisation, which is compulsory in all three Regions, as well as the rules that apply when owners move house with their pets.

Wildlife: wolves, beavers and birds

The return of the wolf to Flemish Limburg and then to the High Fens prompted many reports from the VRT and RTBF. Natagora and Natuurpunt, both naturalist associations, also publish surveys of birds, amphibians and wild mammals across the country.

Television and radio: wildlife programmes

The public broadcasters RTBF and VRT air documentaries and wildlife reports, and RTL-TVI long ran adoption segments. To find out when these programmes are on, check the Belgian TV schedule and the catch-up platforms.

How to verify an alert about an animal?

Notices about lost dogs, cruelty or poisoning spread very quickly on Facebook. Before sharing them, look for confirmation from the local police, the municipality, the Walloon Animal Welfare Unit or a recognised shelter, and check where and when the incident happened.

Following Belgian animal news from abroad

1. Find the animal or nature section of a French-language daily and a Flemish daily to compare regional angles.
2. Subscribe to newsletters from GAIA, Natagora or a shelter to follow campaigns and adoptions.
3. Visit the website of the relevant regional animal welfare minister to read official texts.
4. Listen to RTBF or VRT nature reports on Auvio and VRT MAX.
5. For pigeon racing, follow the results published by the federation and specialist auction sites.
6. Check the date and municipality before passing on an alert about a lost or poisoned animal.

Animal news sources: access and cost

Animal welfare in Belgium at a glance

• Responsibility: the three Regions, Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels-Capital
• Walloon reference text: Walloon Animal Welfare Code (2018)
• Identification: DogID for dogs, CatID for cats
• Associations: GAIA, Natagora, Natuurpunt and many shelters
• Pigeon federation: RFCB, or KBDB in Dutch
• Languages: French and Dutch, German in the East Cantons
• Currency for donations and subscriptions: the euro

Mistakes to avoid with animal news

• Sharing a photo of a mistreated animal taken in another country or another year, wrongly presented as an incident in Belgium.
• Applying a Walloon or Flemish rule in Brussels, when animal welfare legislation differs from one Region to another.
• Treating a campaign video as an official inspection report without reading the response of the operator and the authorities.
• Answering a fake adoption or puppy-for-sale advert that demands a deposit before any visit.
• Mistaking a zoo or animal park press release, copied almost word for word by a website, for independent journalism.

Questions about animal news coverage in Belgium