Today the Dutch court ruled that catching chickens by their legs is forbidden under EU law 1/2005, and that the Dutch Food Authority (NVWA) should enforce this. The case was filed by the organization Wakker Dier. Until now the NVWA has only given warnings to catching companies that catch and load chickens by their legs. The judge has decided that this does not suffice. The … [Read more...] about Dutch court rules: catching birds by their legs is illegal and authorities must take enforcement action
Good news
Milk from farmers who keep their calves with their mothers now available in Dutch stores !
The calves are not directly taken away from their mother when they are born, which happens almost always, but they can stay with their mother for a longer period of time (usually a few months). Because of this, the calves are also not transported when they are very little (2-3 weeks), which is a great improvement for them. A world in which everyone eats plant-based, … [Read more...] about Milk from farmers who keep their calves with their mothers now available in Dutch stores !
Slaughter of very young goat-kids to end in 2025
Partly because of our efforts the sector has drawn up a plan to put a stop to the transportation and slaughter of extremely young goat-kids. From 2025 dairy goat farmers will have to fatten all (100%) of their goat-kids up until a minimum of 2 weeks of age. In 2023 this needs to be at least 25% and in 2024 a minimum of 50%. Two weeks is indeed still too young and does not … [Read more...] about Slaughter of very young goat-kids to end in 2025
EFSA recommends upright catching for birds
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has advised to carry and load birds upright, instead of inverted by their legs. This is one of the recommendations EFSA recently published in their latest report to the European Commission. They write “During loading, inversion and carrying birds by the legs increases the severity of handling stress and the risk of injuries … [Read more...] about EFSA recommends upright catching for birds
Norwegian chicken producer Norsk Kyling uses upright catching method
The Norwegian chicken producer Norsk Kyling has been encouraging their poultry farmers (135 in total) and catching companies to catch their broilers using the upright method, instead of grabbing them by the legs. In barns where the containers can be placed close to the broilers with a forklift, the upright method is usually applied. In barns where the containers are … [Read more...] about Norwegian chicken producer Norsk Kyling uses upright catching method
Slaughterhouse near Ordu (TR) continues to use stunner to render cattle uncouscious
Hopeful news from Turkey: the Halal slaughterhouse near Ordu that we trained in May on how to use a stunner and convinced them to at least render cattle unconscious prior to hoisting and cutting their throats is still stunning the cattle. This has meant a huge decrease in the level of suffering. We are regularly in Turkey to make people aware of the urgent need to … [Read more...] about Slaughterhouse near Ordu (TR) continues to use stunner to render cattle uncouscious
Gosschalk continues to improve animal welfare 
After Gosschalk was forced to shut down by NVW authority due to undercover footage exposing serious animal welfare issues, they have responded by implementing several improvements. Although we were hesitant to help at first (for years Gosschalk did not allow us in) after a few meetings with the director and the newly appointed welfare supervisor, we have the impression … [Read more...] about Gosschalk continues to improve animal welfare 
EonA published new essay on Islamic rules during slaughter
Asalet Sancakdaroglu, our inspector and trainer in Turkey, has spent many years working inside slaughterhouses in Turkey, trying to decrease animal suffering. He has also spent years studying the Koran and Hadiths. He has now written an essay (in English) on Islamic rules during slaughter and the beautiful intent of the Prophet Mohammed’s teachings on animal-welfare. … [Read more...] about EonA published new essay on Islamic rules during slaughter
Several animal welfare improvements at slaughterhouse for goat-kids
In March of this year we paid a visit to a slaughterhouse where among other animals goat-kids of approx. 7-12days old are slaughtered. Read a report about this visit here >> We find it distressing and unacceptable that some milk goat farmers send their “surplus” goat-kids to a slaughterhouse this young. Although the handling of the goat kids was calm (they … [Read more...] about Several animal welfare improvements at slaughterhouse for goat-kids
Demeter farm Het Willink enthousiastic about the upright catching method
Demeter farm Het Willink (biodynamic) caught all their hens using the upright method for the first time this year. The owner let us know he was pleasantly surprised. He said: "It was very quiet in the poultry shed. So, I went to check if the catchers had already started working. When i looked, half of the chickens were already in the crates. The difference in the noise … [Read more...] about Demeter farm Het Willink enthousiastic about the upright catching method
