Today we again visited the slaughterhouse Heinen, which in 2016 took our advice and improved their restraint box. The restraint box was previously closed in the front but has now been “opened” so the pigs find it less scary to walk to the restrainer. Moreover, if pigs are less stressed, they move more easily, which also causes less stress for employees. This again has a positive effect on the pigs.
The handling of the pigs has indeed improved, although further improvements are still possible, such as adjusting the color of the box (this is blue and in contrast to the color of the raceway which may deter the pigs) and reducing the noise level. We found a big difference in professionalism between the employees. With quiet staff, the pigs were clearly less stressed and they walked more easily. We will stay in touch with Heinen about these points.
We would like to thank Heinen for his openness and give him a compliment for the concrete improvement made in his plant.
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- Before: raceway with dead-end
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- After: raceway with open-end
