Activists from the organization "Invisible Animals" and citizens committed to the cause will submit a petition to the registry of the National Assembly today, demanding a ban on calf cages in Bulgaria, the organization reports.
According to "Invisible Animals", the petition has collected over 110,000 signatures.
Newborn calves, mainly in the dairy sector in our country, are thrown into cramped cages almost immediately after birth, the organization notes.
„From its very birth, the calf is torn from its mother. It is thrown into a small cage, barely bigger than itself. It is a baby. He needs play, socialization, space. Instead, he is pushed into a concrete cell or between iron bars. Hour after hour. Day after day. Week after week. Months on end. In solitude and fear between the same four walls, from which there is no escape. This is his entire childhood,” explains activist Stefan Dimitrov from “Invisible Animals“.
What is happening categorically does not correspond to modern achievements in the field of animal husbandry, nor to the recommendations of the competent scientific body of the EU (the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA), according to which the practice of raising calves in cages should be legally terminated and calves should be raised together, in small groups and with more space, indicate “Invisible Animals”.
The petition was started in 2024 and quickly gathered broad public support, the organizers also reported. The initiative's request is a legislative ban on calf cages in Bulgaria and a transition to modern and more natural group rearing for calves.