Today we visited Van Rooi assembly center in Lieshout. There were sows and piglets at the time of our visit. Because there was a wind, the temperature in the barn was fairly comfortable, even though it was almost 30 degrees outside. The doors were open on both sides, allowing the wind to flow through the area. The sows had troughs with water to drink from. In contrast … [Read more...] about Visit to the Van Rooi export assembly center
animal welfare inspection
Inspection of the piglet transport from Pali
Today our team found a parked drag unit from Pali in the south of the Netherlands loaded with young piglets. The consignments were of so-called "residual piglets". These are piglets that go to slaughter because of (minor) disorders, such as an umbilical hernia or bitten ears, and are therefore not fattened up. The unit was parked in direct sunlight. The driver picked up … [Read more...] about Inspection of the piglet transport from Pali
Inspection of a mink transport on the way to NL for a load destined for Greece
In the morning of 3rd July we received a notification from Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) that they had checked a Bulgarian mink transport in Osnabrück. The truck was empty and was going to be loaded with mink in the Netherlands bound for a mink farm in Greece. However, AWF noted that the conditions inside the truck were a concern as the cages were very small and there … [Read more...] about Inspection of a mink transport on the way to NL for a load destined for Greece
Checking arrival of pigs at Vion Boxtel in summer heat, NL
Today was very hot outside and thus a team from Eyes on Animals made an unannounced visit to Vion slaughterhouse in Boxtel to check if the slaughterhouse was well prepared to protect pigs from heat stress. The outside temperature is 27 - 28 degrees and there are no clouds. We saw that Vion employees were spraying the asphalt under the waiting pig trucks to keep the asphalt … [Read more...] about Checking arrival of pigs at Vion Boxtel in summer heat, NL
Visit to livestock-export center Busser (NL)
Today we inspected the collecting center Busser in Bennekom. We were pleased that, despite us showing up unannounced, the manager still welcomed us and gave us a small tour. During our visit there was not a lot of activity. There were a few pigs and piglets destined for transport to slaughter. In the pens there was some sawdust to prevent slipping and to keep the pigs … [Read more...] about Visit to livestock-export center Busser (NL)
Visit to calf farm of Tijs de Koning
Today we brought an unannounced visit to the calf farm of Tijs de Koning. Tijs welcomed us to take a look at his farm, were he keeps 1,300 rosé calves. The calves were kept in a conventional manner – in groups on slatted floors. Because the calves are fattened for rosé meat there is no restriction of iron intake. There were a few calves that were weak or ill. They were … [Read more...] about Visit to calf farm of Tijs de Koning
Minks from Holland transported in horrible conditions
Recently we were in Poland conducting inspections of animal trucks. We stopped a horrible transport truck originating from a breeding farm in The Netherlands (owner: van Ansem) with hundreds of mink on board in tiny dirty wire cages. They were heading to fur farms in Poland. The animals were completely stressed. They were trying to break free of their cages, performing … [Read more...] about Minks from Holland transported in horrible conditions
Practical training of Official Road Transport Inspectors (ITD), Poznan (PL)
TSB|AWF and EonA team was invited by Poznan Road Transport Inspection (ITD) to perform practical inspections on the road. We gave them our training course on Reg. 1/2005 (EU regulation on the protection of animals during transport) in Poznan in April 2016, so it was high time to work together again. In fact, our hands were full! Our team together with three ITD teams … [Read more...] about Practical training of Official Road Transport Inspectors (ITD), Poznan (PL)
Inspection collecting-center with hundreds of kids (young goats) for export
Today we inspected a collecting center in Brabant. There were hundreds of kids (baby goats) present, destined for France. The kids were brought in small trailers and some in a bigger truck from the company Busser. Unfortunately we were not able to observe the conditions inside the collecting center closely because the owner asked us to leave his premises due to public … [Read more...] about Inspection collecting-center with hundreds of kids (young goats) for export
Inspection calf transports from Ireland to The Netherlands
On the 13th of March two teams from Eyes on Animals inspected calf trucks leaving Rosslare (IE) Port and heading to Cherbourg Port (FR) via the Stena Roll-on Roll-off ferry service. The trucks were transported by the Stena Carrier ferry that was especially deployed for transporting calves in February and March. There were at least 17 calf trucks onboard the ferry that day. … [Read more...] about Inspection calf transports from Ireland to The Netherlands
