The Pandemic has made Italians more sensitive. Above all, it brought them closer to nature. This explains why this year there has been a substantial decrease in the sale of lamb meat, a typical Easter lunch tradition.
l Consortium for the protection of Sardinian IGP lamb estimates a 35% drop for this year in the consumption of lamb during Easter celebrations. AND in 2020 there was already a reduction in consumption compared to 2019.
“The increased awareness of how puppies are raised, transported and killed has led to a slump in sales in recent years,” observes the President of the International Organization for the Protection of Animals (Oipa)Massimo Comparotto. «The numerous photos and videos released by animal protection associations have made the difference and more and more people are choosing not to buy lamb. We also invite you to reflect on what happens to all other farmed animals who suffer in the same way, but in the meantime this is a great first step towards ethical nutrition".
This year, Oipa is spreading an image and a concise and clear message: “Everyone should grow up happy with their mom. Even him. Don't eat it at Easter."
The commodification of lambs, in its various phases, expresses a cruelty that goes against every moral rule. Ripped from their mothers at 30-40 days of life, they are weighed and hoisted on their legs, piled up and loaded into trucks for their final journey. Upon arrival, they are unloaded as objects and destined for stunning which is not always carried out according to the regulations. Then, mercilessly, they are killed, sometimes still conscious.
«Last year our symbol for a cruelty-free Easter was the lamb Pablo Emilio, found next to its dead mother and saved by our volunteers in L'Aquila and in recent days we have saved another lamb-symbol in Trento. Lucky little lambs, destined to grow up and die a natural death», recalls Massimo Comparotto. “The alternatives to meat are endless. Those who choose not to eat animals are not complicit in a system that considers sentient beings as mere objects of consumption used and abused".
In contrast to the increased sensitivity of consumers towards the slaughter of lambs, however – reads a note from OIPA – the rain of money arriving for the supply chain of their slaughter should be recorded. The resources arriving only for Sardinian shepherds are close to two million euros, thank you to the Fund for the competitiveness of the supply chains. About 250 lambs bring 1.838.827 euros to Sardinia, 46% of the total destined for all Italian farmers. The money comes from a biennial fund (2020 – 2021) of 7,5 million euros, established with the ministerial decree of 3 April 2020, for mitigate the losses of the sector caused by the Covid emergency and intended for lambs slaughtered in March-April of the previous year. For those with the Igp brand, 8,18 euros per head will go, while non-Igp ones born, raised and slaughtered in Italy will get 5,45 euros per head. In all of Italy, 12.935 applications were presented for a total of 612.937 items, of which 241.235 marked IGP (39%) and 371.702 not marked IGP (61%) for a total of 4 million euros divided as follows: 1.973.145,83 euros ( 49%) will go to PGIs and 2.026.854,17 (51%) to non-PGIs (source: Consortium for the protection of Sardinian lamb).
who knows why only vegan or pro vegan sites report this bullshit because if you turn around and ask the experts in the sectors they tell you instead that sales this year have been excellent enough to have to import several animals from Spain. Even this year it had to be booked, which has never been seen before. Stop this bullshit that sheep meat is the healthiest around precisely because they are animals that graze.