Slovenian farmers, who have been fuming about environmental and other policies they say are making it near impossible to continue farming, have abandoned talks with the government and announced fresh protests after having already staged a huge protest last month.
Their main demands include realistic environmental rules, reduction of Natura 2000 sites, cuts in the populations of large carnivores, the designation of livestock farming as the basis of sustainable agriculture, and a wholesale rejection of the 2022 EU regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products.
“We will no longer attend the meetings of the task force,” Anton Medved, president of the Trade Union of Slovenian Farmers, said yesterday, two weeks into talks with the government that he said was “not in line with our expectations.”
The final straw, he said, was a recently unveiled bill on animal protection that would have allowed non-governmental organisations to supervise animal welfare at farms through “authorised animal protection officers” who would need only 40 hours of training. According to Medved, the proposal is “humiliating”.
“Farmers are the ones who are most acutely aware of the importance of animal protection, and we strongly condemn any kind of animal torture. But it is totally unacceptable that the proposal involves turning livestock farms into training grounds for so-called activists who are supposed to judge the soundness of animal care,” he said.
Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry President Roman Žveglič said the proposal “mocked the profession and breeders.”
Prime Minister Robert Golob expressed regret at the farmers’ decision and implied political motives influenced it. “Such a quick abandoning of talks suggests there may be something else behind it – politics – rather than the interests of agriculture. Time will tell what is true.”
The notion was rejected by Medved, who said political parties did not back up the farmers. “Slovenian farmers have never been more united. We don’t demand money or the replacement of the minister; we demand the protection of Slovenian farmers and consumers.”
The farmers plan their next rally next Tuesday (25 April).
(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)
Source: euractiv.com
