• 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

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 » Our inspections » transport » Inspections of pigs waiting on stationary trucks near Vion, Boxtel (NL)

Inspections of pigs waiting on stationary trucks near Vion, Boxtel (NL)

July 18, 2022

This afternoon it was 33 degrees with 40% humidity in Brabant. For this reason, a team from EonA was checking the roads to make sure there were no farm animals stuck on stationary trucks in distress. Close to Vion pig slaughterhouse we spotted 3 livestock trucks from the company Voss waiting on 3 different national roads. The trucks were parked and had their fans on, but still this was not enough. The respiratory frequency of the pigs on two of these trucks (the third one was a completely closed forced-ventilated truck without any possibility to look inside and the driver did not allow us to look inside) was 128/minute. This is a sign of extreme heat stress. All 3 trucks were stationary for over 75 minutes before entering Vion. Once they entered Vion they again had to wait before unloading. The exact time these animals were finally unloaded into the lairage at Vion Boxtel is unknown. We informed the drivers, Vion management as well as the police and NVWA about our observations and serious concerns. Vion did not let us in to observe the pig trucks parked under their canopy, but insisted they would keep an eye on the welfare of the pigs.

Pg with heat stress in truck heading for slaughterhouse Vion, Boxtel Netherlands

We spoke to the owner of Voss transport company later in the evening, they now understand our point that parking under a tree is often not adequate to avoid heat stress for the pigs in this type of temperature and humidity. It is important to observe the behaviour of the pigs closely and to count the respiration frequency and the build-up of foam around the mouth. We have made it clear that headwind is needed when the pigs show as much heat stress as we have seen today, they must continue driving until they can unload at the slaughterplant and never stay still. The main problem apparently remains with the planning of Vion slaughterhouse in Boxtel (NL) which was running behind today…again. We will continue to insist that Vion, but also the Dutch authorities at the NVWA, decide that with such frequent and such long waiting times, and often messy logistical planning, that it is crucial that the number of animals slaughtered per day be reduced at Vion Boxtel. A slaughterhouse that wants to slaughter so many pigs per hour (1200) cannot function with so few unloading ramps and so little space in their lairage and also their canopy.

We will continue also pushing for reduced daytime opening times on such hot and humid days, and that the KDS accept working at night when the weather conditions are much safer for animals.

This inspection drew the attention of the media in the Netherlands.
Read the article in Zembla and the article in Hart van Nederland.

Pg with heat stress in truck heading for slaughterhouse Vion, Boxtel Netherlands
  • share 
  • tweet 
  • share 
  • save 
  • email 

Filed Under: transport

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

eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
6h

📌🐖 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 7 Like on Twitter 1556270321979777026 14 Twitter 1556270321979777026
eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
6h

📌🐖 Meer weten over dit adorabele biggetje Odina?
Haar verhaal is te lezen op onze FB pagina. #varken #big

Reply on Twitter 1556268563765370880 Retweet on Twitter 1556268563765370880 Like on Twitter 1556268563765370880 5 Twitter 1556268563765370880
eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
6h

Big genietend met een paar honden op een mooie zonnige dag. Gek toch, dat er 1 van de 3 gezien wordt als ‘consumptiedier’ en de andere 2 als huisdier? #varken #hond #dier

Reply on Twitter 1556260806127403009 Retweet on Twitter 1556260806127403009 34 Like on Twitter 1556260806127403009 157 Twitter 1556260806127403009
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