Today, during the Feast of Sacrifice, Eyes on Animals paid a surprise visit to the Oud Rijsenburg slaughterhouse in Driebergen. We spoke with the owner for a long time, but unfortunately, he was not interested in a visit from Eyes on Animals. According to the owner, laws to improve animal welfare are more of a nuisance rather than an improvement. Furthermore, the owner indicated that he was already fully informed and everything wasgoing perfectly well at his slaughterhouse. He was also not interested in sharing his experience with slaughterhouses in countries less developed.
We regret his lack of interest in our visit, especially since several statements made by himwere incorrect. He stated, for example, that the great advantage of unanesthetized slaughter is death occurs immediately after a proper neck-cut. Also, that the animal will not experience any pain. But scientific research has shown that this is not the case. In cattle the suffering is especially long because of a blood vessel at the back of the neck (which is not cut) that continues to supply the brain with blood. The agony could last for many minutes. We would have liked to discuss these and other issues with the owner, but this was not possible. Sadly, these animals are the innocent victims when dialogue is not possible.
