Shocking news. Today our team that had been busy inspecting slaughterhouses in Turkey, drove quickly up to the Turkish/EU border for 1.5 days to get an impression of the latest situation at this border for live animals. The team was accompanied by French journalists. Now that the EU and its Member States have felt the pressure to finally enforce maximum live-animal … [Read more...] about Inspection of EU cattle trucks heading into Turkey
transport
Meeting with Masterrind and ADR (German export-companies sending pregnant cattle to Turkey)
Today Eyes on Animals and AWF/TSB were in Bonn to meet with the German Cattle Breeders Federation and Masterrind about the situation for the thousands of pregnant heifers they exported to Turkey this past summer. We think we may have achieved a first small step : they will discuss internally our proposals that they stop exporting animals during hot weather, not use animal … [Read more...] about Meeting with Masterrind and ADR (German export-companies sending pregnant cattle to Turkey)
EU project on good and aspiring practices to reduce stress of poultry transport
What started off a bit tense became a positive and productive workshop today in Brussels between the stakeholders involved in drafting good and aspiring practices to reduce stress of poultry during transport. Eyes on Animals is a main stakeholder in this EU 3-year project to identify how to put the animal-transport law properly into practice and what steps industry players … [Read more...] about EU project on good and aspiring practices to reduce stress of poultry transport
Inspection of EU cattle trucks at Turkish border
One of our teams is on the Turkish side of the EU/TR border and inspected 15 livestock trucks today transporting live bovines from EU member states into Turkey. The majority of the animals appear to be in a suitable condition. However on one of the trucks we discover two new-born calves. They were born on the truck during the journey from German. This should never have … [Read more...] about Inspection of EU cattle trucks at Turkish border
Inspection of Dutch pigs trucks at Weidemark slaughterhouse during a heatwave
Today a team from Eyes on Animals, together with Vroege Vogels Dutch radio, made an unannounced visit to Weidemark slaughterhouse in Soegel, Germany. We wanted to check if Dutch pig-transport companies were respecting their own new "Heat Protocol" guidelines which require 10%- 20% lower pig density levels when it is very hot outside (27 degrees for a period of 4 days or … [Read more...] about Inspection of Dutch pigs trucks at Weidemark slaughterhouse during a heatwave
Inspection of Dutch sheep trucks at the port of Calais (FR)
On the night, 24th August, 2016 our team inspected six sheep trucks at the port of Calais (FR). The trucks travelled from the UK and arrived by the Joline Ro-Ro Barge, which is owned by the Dutch company, Onderwater Agneaux. The sheep on board the trucks looked crowded. According to the documents they were given only 10cm2 more space than the maximum EU densities allowed … [Read more...] about Inspection of Dutch sheep trucks at the port of Calais (FR)
Inspections of transports to Turkey, Bulgaria
Our AWF/ EonA team stays at the Bulgarian side of the border between Kapitan Andreevo/ Bulgaria and Kapikule/ Turkey and observes the arrival times of animals at the border. A French journalist from ARTE is accompanying us. The trade is comparably slow, with approximately 10 animal trucks per day. We inspect a certain number of trucks, who are loaded with heifers from … [Read more...] about Inspections of transports to Turkey, Bulgaria
Inspection at Vion to evaluate the new Dutch protocol to protect animals from extreme heat during transport
On the 24th and 25th of August, during a heatwave, Eyes on Animals arrived unannounced at the entrance of VION, a large slaughterhouse in Boxtel, The Netherlands, in order to inspect the truckloads of pigs arriving. The aim of the inspections was to check whether the new Heat Plan Protocol, written by Vee & Logistiek, was having an effect in practice. The Heat Plan is … [Read more...] about Inspection at Vion to evaluate the new Dutch protocol to protect animals from extreme heat during transport
Meeting with Pimk transport company about suffering they cause to animals en route to Turkey
There is one company in particular, Pimk, that has been causing horrible suffering to cattle en route from France, Hungary and other EU countries to Turkey. Their drivers are not rude or mean, but most do not have any experience working with farm animals nor do they understand how the equipment on a livestock lorry works. As a result the animals on board most Pimk trucks … [Read more...] about Meeting with Pimk transport company about suffering they cause to animals en route to Turkey
Inspection of chicken-catching in Woudenberg, the Netherlands
Eyes on Animals conducted an inspection of chicken-catching at a breeding-hen farm in The Netherlands. Tonight two poultry-transport trucks and a catching team showed up to load all the birds and send them to slaughter in Poland. The handling was rough. The birds weighed 4.2 kg each. The catchers grabbed them by their legs and hung them inverted, two birds per hand and … [Read more...] about Inspection of chicken-catching in Woudenberg, the Netherlands
