• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • EYES ON ANIMALS – Watching out for their Welfare
  • English
  • Nederlands
  • Deutsch

Eyes on Animals

Watching out for their Welfare

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE
  • About us
    • What we do
    • Our team
    • Key Figures
    • Contact
  • News
    • Latest news
    • Good news
    • Bad news
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Inspections
    • Farms
    • Markets
    • Transports
    • Slaughterhouses
    • Special projects
    • Other
  • Training
    • Police
    • Truck drivers
    • Poultry-catchers
    • Slaughter personnel
    • Training Material
    • Request a training
  • Industry Tips
    • Animal transport
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
    • Slaughterhouses
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
      • Ritual slaughter
    • Educational videos
  • Publications
    • In the media
      • Print
      • Television
      • Radio
      • Videos
    • Newsletters
    • Special reports
    • Training Material
    • Annual reviews
  • Future Vision
  • Help us
Home » News » Bad news » Heat protocol fails to protect pigs from heat-stress

Heat protocol fails to protect pigs from heat-stress

July 31, 2018

The heat protocol, that has been produced  by the industry, fails to protect pigs from heat stress and is regularly being violated.  During our inspections Eyes on Animals witnessed many pigs suffering from heat stress in the queues waiting outside the slaughterhouses. Many pigs arrived when the temperature already exceeded  35 degrees. This means the industry fails to comply with their own rules as according to their heat protocol transport above 35 degrees is not allowed. 

Slaughterhouses are often  dated. While the volume of pigs being slaughtered has increased over the years, the majority of lairages to accommodate the additional numbers have  stayed small,  resulting in long queues forming outside the slaughterhouses due to lack of space to unload the animals. During the heat this leads to huge suffering. Some slaughterhouses have parking places where trucks can wait in the shade but not all slaughterhouses provide this facility. When fans are available, there are often not enough to provide adequate airflow, or the fans are simply too small. Eyes on animals is of the opinion that slaughterhouses need to update their facilities to service the increased volume of animals going to slaughter and to provide conditions to alleviate suffering. 

Additionally, Eyes on Animals believes transport above 29 degrees is unacceptable (refer to the temperature-humidity index below which concludes that pigs are in danger above 29 degrees). To prevent huge suffering transport above 29 degrees should be forbidden and night shifts should be put into operation. Many slaughterhouses and drivers are willing to work during the night, but rules from the NVWA (Dutch Food Authority) often prevent this from happening. Eyes on Animals will be contacting them to discuss the issues raised from our inspections.

Heat Stress
Inspecting pigs in trucks
Pig panting
Exhausted pigs
Exhausted pigs

 

 

  • share 
  • tweet 
  • share 
  • save 
  • email 

Filed Under: Bad news, News Tagged With: animal welfare inspection, live animal transports, pigs

Primary Sidebar

Search

Featured

New film on the fate of Irish unweaned calves on “illegal” export routes that EU tolerates

Ireland continues to break EU feeding laws for unweaned calves during transport when they export … [Read More...] about New film on the fate of Irish unweaned calves on “illegal” export routes that EU tolerates

Featured

Eyes on Animals and Ruurehoeve dairy farm on Canadian TV

The French-Canadian TV show “La Semaine Verte” reported on Eyes on Animals’ project with farmer … [Read More...] about Eyes on Animals and Ruurehoeve dairy farm on Canadian TV

Our most recent newsletter

Dear friends,

Despite the extreme heat and high humidity these last days still tens of thousands of pigs were transported to Dutch slaughterhouses. We visited the two largest: VION in Boxtel and VION in Apeldoorn. 

Read more…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Eyes on Animals op Twitter

roosvonk roos vonk @roosvonk ·
6h

Wat geeft ons het recht om deze dieren industrieel te houden, terwijl ze gevoelens hebben net als wij? We gebruiken 80% van de landbouw om deze dieren te voederen. Als we daarmee stoppen is ons probleem opgelost en hun lijden voorbij. @derksauer #zomergasten

Reply on Twitter 1556391086448431114 Retweet on Twitter 1556391086448431114 40 Like on Twitter 1556391086448431114 207 Twitter 1556391086448431114
vprocinema VPRO Cinema @vprocinema ·
9h

Vanavond na #zomergasten te zien op NPO 2: de baanbrekende natuurdocumentaire Gunda. Keuzefilm van @derksauer.
https://www.vprogids.nl/cinema/lees/artikelen/specials/Zomergasten/2022/Zomergasten-keuzefilm-Derk-Sauer-Gunda.html

Reply on Twitter 1556343918404349952 Retweet on Twitter 1556343918404349952 28 Like on Twitter 1556343918404349952 100 Twitter 1556343918404349952
eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
14h

📌🐖 Over varkens gesproken: vergeet vanavond niet te kijken naar Gunda. #zomergasten @zomergasten @derksauer https://www.cineville.nl/films/gunda #varken

Reply on Twitter 1556270321979777026 Retweet on Twitter 1556270321979777026 12 Like on Twitter 1556270321979777026 37 Twitter 1556270321979777026
Load More...

ANBI

Footer

Donate with Paypal

Paypal Eyes on Animals
One-time donation:
Monthly donation:

Reading Material

  • In the Media
  • Newsletters
  • Special EonA reports
  • Legislative texts
  • ANBI

Our Amsterdam Office

Amsterdam House Hotel
Eyes on Animals main office is in downtown Amsterdam, at the Amsterdam House Hotel. The generous and warm-hearted hotel owner donated to Eyes on Animals, free of charge, a beautiful room where our inspectors can work, hold meetings and store their material.

Copyright © 2022 · Eyes on Animals | Website by Webkompaan