Today Eyes on Animals visited an Austrian pig and cattle meat company that, 4 years ago, built a new multi-million euro slaughterhouse with "animal-behaviour and emotions" as their main focus. Their goal was to set up the most humane slaughterhouse possible. They visited 38 other slaughterhouses around Europe to come up with the best design to keep stress and pain low. The … [Read more...] about Visit of Huetthaler slaughterhouse, Austria
slaughterhouses
Visit to Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde, NL
Today Eyes on Animals visited Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde. It is a relatively small slaughterhouse, where pigs, cattle and sheep are slaughtered. The advantage of small plants is that there is often less time pressure to process large number of animals per hour, and thus more time to handle the animals calmly. But still, the personnel and equipment need to be … [Read more...] about Visit to Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde, NL
Inspection of Willems pig slaughterhouse (NL) with unique crowdpen and stunbox
Today we visited Willems slaughterhouse in Druten. The owner designed his own version of the Bud box to minimalize stress for the animals when entering the restraint box. According to the owner this also has a positive effect on the quality of the meat. The design is based on the Bud box for cows. It is a square pen with an elongated swing gate. With the swing gate and … [Read more...] about Inspection of Willems pig slaughterhouse (NL) with unique crowdpen and stunbox
First meeting of committee “welfare improvement at pig slaughter”
Today, the committee on "welfare improvement in pig slaughter” met for the first time. The committee includes: Two scientific experts on stunning, a veterinarian specializing in pigs and their behavior, a technical expert on slaughter lines, an animal welfare manager from a large pig slaughterhouse and Eyes on Animals. Reasons for the committee Many pigs in … [Read more...] about First meeting of committee “welfare improvement at pig slaughter”
Emir Adak Slaughterhouse and Sales in Istanbul will stun prior to slaughter
Good news from our team in Turkey ! Another slaughterhouse, this time for sheep, will stun most of the animals they slaughter prior to cutting their throat. Eyes on Animals taught the workers how to use and maintain a stunner and officially leased out one of our stunners for a period of 1 year. We will do a follow-up check in a few months and until then they will regularly … [Read more...] about Emir Adak Slaughterhouse and Sales in Istanbul will stun prior to slaughter
Follow-up check on Westfort pig slaughterhouse, NL
After Animal Rights released undercover footage from inside Westfort slaughterhouse last year, Eyes on Animals together with Dr. Kees Scheepens met with the managers of the plant and those responsible for quality to encourage them to take steps to reduce animal stress. They too were eager to make improvements. At the time, we walked through the slaughterhouse together, … [Read more...] about Follow-up check on Westfort pig slaughterhouse, NL
Concerns about forced-ventilated closed livestock trucks
Eyes on Animals has written to several major truck-design companies regarding concerns we have with forced-ventilated closed livestock trucks. These trucks are completely closed and automatically ventilated. During our summer inspections, however, we witnessed this ventilation is not always sufficient, making these trucks very hot and humid - resulting in heat … [Read more...] about Concerns about forced-ventilated closed livestock trucks
Visit at VION pig slaughterhouse in Boxtel
Today, we paid a surprise visit to VION pig slaughterhouse in Boxtel. The purpose of this visit was to see what measures had been taken to prevent or reduce heat stress in pigs arriving at the slaughterhouse. Many measures had been taken to lower the temperature for the trucks waiting in front of the slaughterhouse: a canopy provided shade, industrial fans were in place … [Read more...] about Visit at VION pig slaughterhouse in Boxtel
Visit to poultry slaughterhouse Plukon in Goor during heat
Due to today’s high temperatures we paid a surprise visit to Plukon poultry slaughterhouse in Goor . We received a warm welcome from the quality manager and we discussed the measures Plukon is taking to reduce heat stress in poultry. We also took a brief look at the trucks as they arrived on site. The air is cooled with water (honeycomb) in the lairage. This … [Read more...] about Visit to poultry slaughterhouse Plukon in Goor during heat
Visit to pig slaughterhouse VION Apeldoorn during the heat
Today we carried out an unannounced inspection at VION slaughterhouse in Apeldoorn because of the tropical weather. It was around 31°C in the shade and 37°C in the sun, with an air humidity of around 30%. We observed a waiting truck, visited the lairage and talked to the company manager about measures to combat heat stress. VION Apeldoorn had … [Read more...] about Visit to pig slaughterhouse VION Apeldoorn during the heat
