Murder of Karel Van Noppen

The murder of Karel Van Noppen was a high-profile assassination of a government livestock inspector in Belgium in 1995.

Van Noppen had been investigating illegal practices by farmers and businessmen in Belgium and was shot dead by assailants outside his house in the village of Wechelderzande in the province of Antwerp.

The killing provoked outrage throughout Belgium, with a torchlight procession led by his widow in Flanders and calls to investigate and better regulate the cattle industry.

However, the use of such hormones has been banned by the European Union since 1989 and so organised crime, motivated by the immense profits, moved into the business.

[3] The 2011 Belgian crime drama Bullhead, directed by Michaël R. Roskam, with Matthias Schoenaerts in a leading role, is loosely based on the incident and the hormone mafia.