Today, Eyes on Animals visited a parking lot where poultry trucks are frequently parked waiting for Clazing slaughterhouse. Due to the warm weather (around 29°C), we documented the waiting times of the trucks. Long waiting times are undesirable because temperatures rise very quickly in a stationary truck. This puts the chickens at great risk for heat stress.
Fortunately, numerous trees line the lot and provide some shade. But the waiting facilities are far from ideal. There are no mobile fans and there is not enough shade for the entire length of the trucks (the chickens in the trailer are still partially in the sun). We recorded waiting times of over an hour, which is much too long.
Drivers had done their best though by loading fewer birds per container and raising the roof of the truck. One driver had kept the front containers empty because this is where it gets the hottest (due to the truck’s engine). Unfortunately, this did not prevent some of the broilers in the back of the containers from experiencing heat stress. We will ask Clazing to reduce waiting times (<15 minutes), build a canopy and add large mobile fans.
