Today, we saw a Spanish livestock truck at a pig farm in North Brabant, where young piglets were being loaded. We decided to take a look and introduced ourselves to one of the employees. He said we could observe on the condition that we did not film, which we naturally respected. However, just a few minutes later, the farm owner arrived and immediately ordered us to leave the premises.
In the short time we were present, we nevertheless observed some concerning issues:
- There was far too much noise during the herding of the piglets, including the intensive use of rattle paddles.
- The loading facilities were somewhat untidy, with open and low fencing creating many distractions for the piglets.
- The animals were handled roughly: they were hit with rattle paddles, and one piglet was even pulled by its ears.
Such treatment is not only unacceptable from an animal welfare perspective, but also entirely unnecessary. With better preparation, less noise, and fewer distractions, much of the stress can be prevented, and the need to touch the animals becomes almost entirely avoidable.
In our view, one compartment was clearly overloaded. The loading in the other compartments (we were only able to observe the first deck) appeared acceptable.
The piglets showed a striking number of fight-related scratches. They were heading to a fattening farm in Bilbao, Spain.
We decided to follow the truck to its first stop, just across the border in France. Upon inspection, no water came from the drinker nipples. The driver later showed us nipples on the other side that did dispense water. Whether he had just activated the system, or whether some nipples were malfunctioning, remains unclear. There was not enough time to conduct a proper check. The drivers were otherwise friendly and told us they were headed to Bilbao.
It is disappointing that the loading of pigs in the Netherlands – as we witnessed today – can still be accompanied by so much stress. Fortunately, we are in dialogue with several progressive parties, such as livestock trader Van Rooi and slaughterhouse Westfort, who are open to our advice.
We will also make another attempt to contact the pig farmer, in the hope that he is open to improvements. His initial negative response may have been due to the fact that he was not yet familiar with our organisation.
The photos below were taken during the first stop in France, so not during loading.
