Wouters has made some improvements in their slaughterhouse to reduce stress amongst the cattle. At Wouters cattle are slaughtered for the Halal market. They first have their throats cut and only after are stunned with a captive bolt pistol (to render them unconscious and no longer sensible to pain). In order to easily access the throat to make the cut, the cattle’s heads are stretched. A common problem at slaughterhouses were cattle are cut prior to stunning is that the their heads – in order to perform a clean cut – are pulled backwards too far – causing fear and pain. On our recommendation Wouters has welded a metal bar in front of the box – so the head cannot be overstretched. Further they have put rubber on several fixation-parts of the box so less pressure it put on the cattle’s body. They have also promised us to turn down the radio for their workers as it was causing stress to the cattle and to put rubber strips in between the metal fences – so loud bangs are prevented.
We want to thank Wouters for their transparency and the improvements that have been made so far.
