Good news

All of the EonA and AWF complaints about the lenient and corrupt behaviour of the veterinarian inspectors at the Bulgarian side of the border have paid off. A group of European Officials also inspected the activities at the border and, like us, sent in a complaint that the veterinarian inspectors were not conducting their work thoroughly. After the recent elections … [Read more...] about Major changes at Bulgarian/Turkish border

This month Eyes on Animals visited a cattle slaughterhouse called EuroMeats in Belgium. Motivated to make improvements to the welfare of the animals passing through his plant, the Director met with the three local Imams to discuss steps they could take together to reduce pain during Halal slaughter. Open and respectful dialogue lead to them agreeing to at least use the … [Read more...] about November 2013: Belgian Halal slaughterhouse Director and local Imams agree to stun animals

Compaxo slaughterhouse in the Netherlands again sets a good example. Last year they installed floor heating in the pen for suspect pigs and reduced noise levels, and now they just finished installing video camera surveillance in all places where live animals are being handled. Video surveillance is used to monitor that animal handling during unloading, lairaging … [Read more...] about October 2013: Compaxo installs videocamera surveillance

The improvement of chicken transport crates, one of the prime focuses of Eyes on Animals work, is something the poultry industry is now also interested in; so we heard from a reliable source. The industry is discussing and gathering information about the advantages and disadvantages of several shapes of crates and possible new designs that could improve welfare. We are … [Read more...] about April 2013 Attention for poultry transport crates

Since 20.03.2013 the Turkish border veterinarians are enforcing the EU maximum journey times for animals, as indicated in the EU animal-protection-during-transport regulation EC 1/2005. Previously, compliance with EU animal-protection laws played no role in the processing and acceptance of EU livestock trucks by the Turkish authorities. But since yesterday they are … [Read more...] about March 2013 Good news from Turkish border Kapikule!

Vion Groenlo has informed us that after our visit they improved their lairage by installing black rubber shock absorbers on the gates to reduce the noise when slamming them shut. Noise, particularly loud bangs, greatly add to the stress and fright level of animals in slaughterhouses. We thank Vion Groenlo for acting on this suggestion and doing something to improve … [Read more...] about Vion Groenlo slaughterhouse reduces noise level

Westfort pig slaughterhouse has installed video surveillance to monitor the behaviour of their employees towards the animals. Video surveillance in slaughterhouses has shown to have an immediate positive impact on the way employees handle the animals. The employees are more calm and careful and those having a bad day, think twice before letting it out on an innocent … [Read more...] about Westfort slaughterhouse installs videocamera surveillance

 Compaxo, a Dutch pig slaughterhouse, has responded very openly to some of our suggestions regarding improving conditions for "suspect" pigs. Suspect pigs are animals that are fit enough to be legally transported, but are lightly sick or injured. They are kept in separate pens at slaughterhouses, and usually only slaughtered at the end of the day to avoid any … [Read more...] about Dec 2011 Welfare improvements at Compaxo slaughterhouse