Today we brought an unannounced visit to poultry slaughterhouse Van Miert in Breukelen (NL). In front of the building there was a poultry-truck with badly designed and poorly maintained containers. The metal wire of the drawers was bent in several places, causing small openings where birds could stick their heads out. Once the birds are loaded into the containers and these drawers are shut closed, there is a high risk that birds‘ heads get crushed. The containers also seemed low for the large broilers that are slaughtered at Van Miert. If containers are low there is a higher risk of injuries during catching and loading the birds. The truck was owned by transport company Blom, but the containers belong to Van Miert.
We have therefore tried to contact van Miert but they were not interested to get into dialogue with us. We therefore decided to contact the NVWA about our concerns, as Van Miert also suggested.
