Animals rights activists pasted around 100 stickers on rabbit meat packaging in over 30 Lidl supermarkets in Flanders and Brussels on Saturday.
Activists from Bite Back want to make consumers think about what a rabbit goes through before it ends up in a refrigerated display case. The sticker reads "These are the animals behind your meat" next to an image of three rabbits in a cage, one of which is dead.
According to Bite Back, the 'park rabbit' label on the packaging in question is misleading. A 'park' is simply the name for a cage that is not closed at the top, the organisation says in the statement.
"Lidl and other stores proclaim with great bravado that park rabbits have a good life and are treated with respect. In the meantime, undercover images and research have shown that this is not the case."
One in four die before reaching the slaughterhouse
Undercover images taken in January at a rabbit farm in Hoogstraeten show dead and sick animals. They also reveal violent treatment of the animals by staff and the manager during transport. Bite Back says one in four rabbits dies before the animals reach the slaughterhouse.
The animal rights organisation wants all supermarket chains to think about the sale of rabbit meat and about the evaluation of the 'park rabbit' label. Discussions with Lidl are ongoing.
"It is difficult to understand why Bite Back activists chose Lidl for their action," a spokesperson for the supermarket chain responded.
"Rabbit meat is not part of Lidl's regular assortment and is only sold a few times a year for a few days," she told Belga News Agency.
She also pointed out that 'park rabbit' is not a Lidl label but a standard label. According to the spokesperson, Lidl generally does pay attention to animal welfare.
