Aïd 2025: 7 sheep rescued during a control operation in Liège

As every year during Eid al-Adha, the Animal Disaster Team (ADT) maintained an increased state of readiness throughout the weekend, prepared to intervene at the request of authorities in any situation that could compromise animal welfare.

This year, our team was called in to assist in Liège as part of a series of inspections carried out in collaboration with:

• the local police,
• the UBEA (Animal Welfare Unit),
• and the FASFC (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain).

These inspections aimed to prevent illegal slaughter and ensure compliance with existing legislation.

During the operation, seven sheep were removed from locations that failed to meet both sanitary standards and legal animal welfare requirements.

The rescued animals were immediately transferred to the SRPA (Royal Society for the Protection of Animals), where they received:

• appropriate medical care,
• safe and suitable shelter.

Our teams ensured that the transfer was handled with as little stress as possible for the animals involved.

Despite the joint efforts of the authorities and on-the-ground actors, hundreds of sheep are still slaughtered illegally each year, under conditions that are:

• alarming from an animal welfare perspective,
• hazardous from a sanitary standpoint,
• and entirely outside the legal framework.