Eyes on Animals visited this pig slaughterhouse in the summer of 2016 (many Dutch pigs are slaughtered here) and noticed that many animals had to wait on board trucks, in the sun, for hours before being unloaded. We spoke with the director and insisted immediate measures be taken to reduce some of the heat stress risks. The first thing they should do is order industrial mobile fans and provide more parking places in the shade. The long term solution is to build a larger lairage inside their plant, to accommodate for all pigs arriving. At the time the director promised at least fans and shady parking.
Shady parking places have been made available for livestock trucks (roof and newly built lane along trees)
In May 2018 we checked that these things were indeed in place. We are pleased that our first two suggestions have been completed and see this as a good start. We will continue to insist that large slaughterhouses increase their lairage capacity. Not just Weidemark but all large slaughterhouses should enlarge their lairages, so that live animals be unloaded as soon as possible to be rested in a cool stable with more room to move, drink and lie down uninterrupted.
