Animal rights activists stage second day of protests at European Commission over lobbying claims

More than 100 demonstrators are expected to gather outside the Commission’s health directorate in Brussels today, following a protest at its headquarters on Monday

More than 100 animal rights activists are set to gather outside the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) in Brussels today, marking the second day of protests over claims of disproportionate industry influence on EU animal welfare policy.

The demonstration follows a protest on Monday outside the Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters, where more than 100 activists assembled to highlight findings from a recent analysis of official meetings between EU policymakers and external stakeholders.

The data, compiled by Animal Equality using the Commission’s Transparency Register, suggests that Commissioners responsible for animal welfare and agriculture – Olivér Várhelyi and Christophe Hansen – and their cabinets held at least 46 meetings with representatives of the meat, poultry and dairy industries between December 2024 and March 2026, compared with seven meetings with animal welfare organisations.

That represents a ratio of roughly 7:1 in favour of industry groups, according to the organisation.

Across 708 recorded meetings analysed over the same period, terms such as “cage” and “chick culling” did not appear in any declared meeting subjects, despite campaigns calling for bans on both practices, the group says.

Animal Equality said the protests were intended to bring both the data and public pressure directly to EU institutions, with Tuesday’s demonstration taking place at DG SANTE, where animal welfare legislation is drafted.

Speaking at Monday’s protest, Matteo Cupi, the organisation’s vice president for Europe, said: “This is the Commission’s own public record, and today, more than 100 people are here to make sure those responsible cannot pretend they haven’t seen it.”

The protests come amid ongoing criticism of delays to promised EU animal welfare reforms.

In 2021, the Commission committed to bringing forward proposals to phase out caged farming following a European Citizens’ Initiative backed by 1.4 million people. No legislative proposal has yet been tabled, and the issue does not appear in the Commission’s 2026 work programme.

Animal Equality is calling for a binding timeline for legislation by the end of 2026, confirmation that any proposal will include bans on cages and chick culling, and what it describes as more balanced institutional access between industry and animal welfare groups.

Tuesday’s protest is scheduled to take place at 11:30am outside DG SANTE on Rue Breydel in Brussels.

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_{Main image: Activists from the international organisation Animal Equality protesting outside the European Commission in Brussels. Credit: Raffaele Petralla / Animal Equality}