Eyes on Animals met with an Italian veterianarian and a company called "Poultry Plast" today to discuss current problems with the loading and transport of poultry and see how design can be improved on to reduce the level of suffering. Poultry Plast makes transport crates for all types of poultry and also rabbits. They make large crates with access doors that can go on a … [Read more...] about Meeting about poultry-welfare during transport at Poultry Plast, Italy
chicken-catching
Inspection of emptying out of a laying-hen farm
Tonight a team from Eyes on Animals was conducting random inspections of animal transports on the roads in the Netherlands. We spotted two empty Polish poultry trucks heading towards a farm in Drenthe (NL). We followed in order to check on how the hens at the egg farm would be handled during loading before being transported for slaughter in Poland. Birds were held upside … [Read more...] about Inspection of emptying out of a laying-hen farm
Brainstorming with Rondeel about changing to a more humane catching-method
Today Eyes on Animals brainstormed with egg-producing company Rondeel on how to switch to upright catching (EonA Dutch method) and further reduce stress during catching and loading. Normally, chickens are grabbed by their legs (3-5 per hand) and then stuffed headfirst into transport crates. With the EonA Dutch method, the chickens are picked up a maximum of two at a time, … [Read more...] about Brainstorming with Rondeel about changing to a more humane catching-method
Rondeel is moving towards a more humane catching method!
After more than a year of 'tough dialogue' with the poultry industry, EonA finally succeeded: Rondeel – an egg producing company – has decided that they are going to develop a new way of catching based on the EonA Dutch method we have been teaching (keeping birds upright instead of grabbing them by their legs and stuffing them into crates while upside down). Their decision … [Read more...] about Rondeel is moving towards a more humane catching method!
Eyes on Animals gives a talk at the Organic Food exhibition in Zwolle, NL
Today Eyes on Animals was present at the Organic Food Exhibition (BioBeurs) in Zwolle, the Netherlands. We were invited to give a talk about how poultry can be caught and loaded in a much less cruel way than the universal current commercial method. We talked about the training course that we developed for chicken-catchers and the recent trainings we held to … [Read more...] about Eyes on Animals gives a talk at the Organic Food exhibition in Zwolle, NL
Animal Welfare Course for 24 catchers of Van den Broek
Last Thursday (October 27th 2016) Eyes on Animals - with support of the Dierenbescherming - presented an animal welfare course to 24 bird catchers of Van den Broek. Van den Broek is one of the largest poultry companies in the Netherlands and we encounter them regularly during our inspections. Van den Broek responded positively to our request to attend a course and as many … [Read more...] about Animal Welfare Course for 24 catchers of Van den Broek
Rondeel to switch to more ethical method of chicken-catching
Good news! Yesterday we met with the General Manager of Rondeel, a company that runs four chicken-farms in The Netherlands and produces eggs and poultry-meat according to higher welfare standards. He agreed with our idea to use the much more gentle method of chicken-catching, called "The EonA Dutch Method" next time they will empty out one of their barns. Eyes on Animals … [Read more...] about Rondeel to switch to more ethical method of chicken-catching
Inspection of chicken-catching in Woudenberg, the Netherlands
Eyes on Animals conducted an inspection of chicken-catching at a breeding-hen farm in The Netherlands. Tonight two poultry-transport trucks and a catching team showed up to load all the birds and send them to slaughter in Poland. The handling was rough. The birds weighed 4.2 kg each. The catchers grabbed them by their legs and hung them inverted, two birds per hand and … [Read more...] about Inspection of chicken-catching in Woudenberg, the Netherlands
Training course given to Gemril chicken-catchers
This past Saturday we held, for the first time, a welfare-workshop for chicken-catchers. We gave this training course to the Netherlands´ largest chicken-catching company, called Gemril in Arnhem. Gemril specializes in the catching and loading of "spent" laying-hens. They are hired by egg farmers to come and empty the barns when the hens are no longer laying enough eggs … [Read more...] about Training course given to Gemril chicken-catchers
Inspection of chicken-catching at a farm in the Netherlands
EonA team was invited by an egg farmer to his laying-hen farm tonight in Drenthe to check how his 9000 spent-hens will be caught and loaded for transport to slaughter. He was open to our opinion and to exchange ideas on how to improve welfare and to test out the "EonA Dutch method" of catching the birds together with the catching crew. Normally all spent laying-hens are … [Read more...] about Inspection of chicken-catching at a farm in the Netherlands
