Second time lucky: how ‘Stop Cruelty Stop Slaughter’ used past ECI experience to reach 1.325 million signatures

Remo Nannetti is an activist working with the Italian Foundation Save the Chickens. For him, European citizens’ initiatives (ECIs) are about changing minds, not just gathering signatures in the hopes of influencing policy. The ECI Stop Cruelty Stop Slaughter, which Remo organises with colleagues, had garnered just over 1.325 million signatures when the year-long signature collection process closed in September 2025. These signatures are to be transmitted to the competent national authorities for verification before the final number is confirmed. We spoke with Remo a few days after collection had ended. He is delighted with the result but realistic about the future. “This is only phase one,” he says. 

“The initiative doesn’t stop, because the idea should be permanent with the people.”

It is also not the beginning. Save the Chickens supported the ECI End The Slaughter Age back in 2022, calling on the EU to exclude livestock farming from activities eligible for agricultural subsidies, include ethical and environmentally friendly alternatives, and incentivise the production and sale of plant-based products and those made using cellular agriculture. 

They collected almost 868,000 signatures and potentially reached the threshold for support in nine countries, two more than the minimum needed. An impressive attempt, but still short of the required 1 million.

This time around, with Stop Cruelty Stop Slaughter, a slightly different group of organisers tried again, calling for incentives to produce plant-based proteins and a gradual reduction in the number of farm animals in Europe until all farms and slaughterhouses are closed.

The new organisers used the organising network created by the previous ECI.

The organisers now hope to have reached the country thresholds in the same nine member states as the previous ECI: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovakia (thresholds are assessed after Member State verification). But this time, the numbers were significantly higher, passing the 1 million mark by more than 325,000 signatures. 

The network helped, but Remo believes it is also the result of changing perspectives towards animal rights issues and ideologies. 

“People’s awareness of the issue has probably increased since last time,” he says. “We believed that we could reach the one million, because we saw acceptance of what we did.”

Changing minds 

Shifting attitudes is the organisers’ top priority. While recognising the importance of European policymaking to instigate real change, the ECI organisers are realistic that 1.325 million signatures does not mean the European Commission will necessarily decide to take action strong enough to end the slaughter of animals.

Animal rights activism is a numbers game, especially in the current political climate of low citizen activism.

Read more about animal rights European citizens’ initiatives:

• OIPA’s European citizens’ initiatives: End the Horse Slaughter Age and Vegan Meal
• Elise Fleury, Fur Free Europe: Citizens want to see an end to the unnecessary suffering of animals!
• Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics: We chose an ECI because it has meaning, and it has force!
• Anatomy of a miracle: how the last 20 days of the Stop Finning EU campaign became a gamechanger
• End the Cage Age: Insider Tips on How to Get 1,6 Million Signatures and Surpass the Threshold in Twenty-One EU Member States

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Currently, Remo estimates, potential supporters of vegetarian, vegan and animal-rights causes make up around 5 to 10% of the EU population, accounting for 22-45 million people. 

Getting a million of them to sign one ECI is a tough job. A million people is an impossible number to talk to and reach directly, but in online campaigns, views tend to only convert to signatures at very low rates. 

To beat the odds, the organisers started with setting a goal that would resonate with the most people in their formulation of the ECI demands. 

To do so, they gathered a group of around 20 activists with different ideologies, a university professor and two lawyers. The debate was complex, but they managed to settle on two key goals: a complete phase out of animal slaughter and changing funding systems in favour of plant-based and cell-based alternatives that would appeal to European citizens.

Then, the organisers found local groups to support the initiative in all 27 EU Member States. In some countries, they were aided by existing organisations. In others, the organisers had to create local groups by using their own personal networks. 

This gave varying results in different countries for different reasons. For example, the organisers believe that in Italy,  the country’s various animal rights groups are fragmented in their approaches, making it difficult to collaborate. On some issues, they are even in opposition to one another. This is a weakness the organisers hope to overcome with time. For them, differences in approach matter less than changing as many people’s attitudes towards animals as possible. “Every person that we reach out to and share our key idea with is a goal for us,” Remo says. 

Here, clear messaging is key. To ensure the volunteers are spreading a clear message, the organisers created a blog for coordination where registered volunteers could find the messaging in multiple languages, alongside recommended targets for communication. The organisers wanted to ensure they have a clear message, synthesising all the opinions the ECI represents. But to Remo, these are only organisational details. 

The key was finding ways to reach people and keep them engaged. 

Next, as they prepare for the verification of signatures by the national authorities, the organisers will keep the momentum going with a continued campaign, which will include spreading the message on radio and television, alongside educational content.

“It's important that we move forward,” says Remo. And his recipe for success? “Just a lot of personal work on the part of everyone who has shared our ideas.”

About the author:

Goda Naujokaitytė

Goda Naujokaitytė is a freelance journalist specialising in European policy and writes about the European citizens’ initiative for ProMedia. Her work is informed by her experience in Brussels, both inside and outside the EU institutions, as well as time spent living in various European countries. She covers primarily EU digital, green and competitiveness policy, as well as research and innovation in the European Union. 

Read other stories from Goda:

• Amid global chaos ECI activism is important as ever, says Commissioner Šefčovič
• 1.1 million and rising: EU citizens push ‘Stop Destroying Videogames’ past the legal threshold weeks ahead of deadline
• How the ‘Stop Destroying Videogames’ ECI went viral — and what you can learn from it