The managers of Clazing poultry slaughterhouse in Zevenhuizen (NL) has informed us that they are not open to a visit from us, Eyes on Animals, to get ideas on how to improve animal welfare. Clazing wrote that our visit does not “benefit them” and our animal welfare recommendations will not have “any added value to their production process”.
Clazing is one of the few poultry slaughterhouses in the Netherlands that still uses an electric waterbath to render birds unconscious. In electric water-bath stunning systems, birds are first hung upside down and have their feet placed into shackles; this causes much stress and pain. Secondly a significant number of birds is not stunned properly in the water-bath system. That is the reason the electric water-bath stunning system has been almost entirely phased out in The Netherlands.
Clazing is a Halal-certified slaughterhouse. At Clazing birds are rendered reversibly unconscious (by using high frequencies) – imposing an even bigger risk of birds regaining consciousness or not being properly stunned at all. The Dutch official food authority inspectors recently published their findings at Clazing, which showed that animal-welfare improvements (especially during stunning and debleeding) at this plant were necessary.
We are of the opinion that Clazing could greatly benefit from advice from Eyes on Animals and are very disappointed that Clazing is not open to our visit.
