Inspection of a Turkish slaughterhouse where many EU animals are slaughtered

This week the team from EonA/AWF is in Turkey to check on conditions for animals at Turkish slaughterhouse. We have planned to ask for permission to visit as many Turkish slaughterhouses as possible where many EU cattle and sheep end up, after their long journeys from Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland and Estonia. We know that the transport conditions from the EU to Turkey have been very problematic with lots of suffering involved – what is the welfare of the animals like once they arrive at the slaughter plant? Today we introduced ourselves to a plant (keeping name anonymous in the hope that they will cooperate with us to get improvements in place) that showed us their installations and equipment used for the slaughter of cattle and sheep, plus they permitted us to watch the slaughter of one sheep. The waiting pens had water troughs and some of the sheep were being fed. There was a roof to keep them in the shade. Nevertheless the raceway towards the killing floor was very slippery. The raceway for the cattle did not have solid walls which is a negative point – open bars mean that shadows are created causing cattle to balk, but also that cattle can see people moving about and what is taking place in the kill floor. As well the floor of the box where each bovine is placed individually to hang him/her up for slaughter does not have any anti-slip material or ridges on it.  The sheep are moved through a conveyor squeeze raceway that brings them up off the floor. They are then hung upside down, one at a time, by a chain around their leg. The sheep are fully conscious and, while hanging by one leg, are moved roughly 2 metres towards a drainage area where their throats are cut. The slaughter of the cattle is over for today, but we are shown the kill floor. It is covered in a thick layer of blood making it very slippery. We are told that we can come back tomorrow to inspect the slaughter of the cattle. Although we have our concerns regarding the manner animals are moved and killed here, we are very pleased that at least the veterinarians of this plant are open to having us there and to hearing our opinions. This is at least a first step to getting improvements. We will stay in contact with them and check that our recommendations for improvements are taken seriously.