Today Eyes on Animals had a meeting with two initiators of the Mobile Slaughtering Cooperative (CMS). CMS wants to develop a mobile pig slaughterhouse that can be placed on the farm itself – eliminating the need to transport the pigs. The pigs are stunned (made unconscious) in their familiar surroundings (in the barn or field) and are then further processed in the mobile slaughterhouse.
Slaughtering pigs on the farm not only eliminates transport, but also saves the pigs a stressful time in a slaughterhouse, an unfamiliar (and therefore scary) environment. Often with a lot of loud noises and less than optimal handling of the pigs. Therefore, Eyes on Animals strongly supports this initiative.
The mobile slaughterhouse will be used for healthy pigs. Small-scale farms with a higher level of animal welfare are particularly interested at this time. They want to avoid transporting their pigs and sell locally instead. Eyes on Animals will be involved in the design of the slaughterhouse to ensure that the handling and slaughtering is done with minimal stress to the animals. As well as pay full attention to other potential animal welfare risks, such as the spread of animal diseases.
