Today we were invited by the Turkish animal-welfare NGOs HAYTAP and Ordu Orkinos to meet with the official from Ordu municipality responsable for 8 slaughterhouses in the entire Ordu region plus their chief veterinarian and the head veterinarian from the slaughterhouse in the city of Ordu. The point of the meeting was to express our serious concern for the suffering of animals during slaughter in Turkey.
Cattle, sheep and goats in Turkey are restrained, tied, turned upside down or hung up fully off the floor by a chain around one leg and get their throats cut, often “sawed”, while fully conscious and fully sentient. The animals experience sheer terror and pain. We cannot shut down these slaughterhouses, but in order to at least succeed in reducing some of this suffering we are teaching the importance of showing more compassion by keeping the animals on all 4 legs, standing up in a normal position and stunning them first with a captive bolt stunner. Today we showed them the difference this can make. They want to adopt this practice. We, as well as Ordu Orkinos/HAYTAP will stay in touch with them. We have leased them a stunner under the condition that the use it regularly and maintain it well.
