Kyprianou and the Blanc Bleu Belge

The responsibilities of Markos Kyprianou, the European commissioner for health, include the health of animals. So he faces an interesting challenge at the end of next week. As part of an event to mark 50 years of food safety in the EU, Kyprianou will travel to the cattle market in the Belgian provincial town of Ciney, whose abbey is renowned for its beer and cheese. The trip includes a visit to the insemination centre of the Wallonian Livestock Agency which specialises in the “collection, processing and storage of semen” from the Blanc Bleu Belge breed of cattle. The Commission says that Ciney livestock market, the third largest in Europe, had major welfare problems in the 1990s but, following a Commission intervention, “now adheres to very high animal health and welfare standards”. But is Commission approval for the showcase of the Blanc Bleu Belge such a good idea? The cattle are prized for their high muscle content which gives the animals the appearance of bodybuilders. But not only are they artificially inseminated, most of them are artificially delivered as well. Such is their bulk that more than half of all cows have to have caesareans. Animal welfare groups complain that this causes unnecessary pain and the Swedes want the breed banned for this reason – hence the rarity of Blanc Bleu Suède shoes.