Today the Dutch court ruled that catching chickens by their legs is forbidden under EU law 1/2005, and that the Dutch Food Authority (NVWA) should enforce this. The case was filed by the organization Wakker Dier. Until now the NVWA has only given warnings to catching companies that catch and load chickens by their legs. The judge has decided that this does not suffice. The … [Read more...] about Dutch court rules: catching birds by their legs is illegal and authorities must take enforcement action
live animal transports
EonA meets with Denkavit to discuss L214’s exposure of mistreatment of calves at their testing station in France
Today we met with the managers of Denkavit’s headquarters in the Netherlands. Denkavit is a large Dutch company working internationally and producing white veal and feed for veal calves. The reason we asked for a meeting is that we had seen footage taken by the French NGO L214 showing very rough and disrespectful treatment of young calves at one of their feed-testing … [Read more...] about EonA meets with Denkavit to discuss L214’s exposure of mistreatment of calves at their testing station in France
More and more chicken-catching companies, encouraged by the Dutch Chicken Catching Organization, refuse to catch birds upright
For more than six years we have had a positive time training chicken-catching companies on the gentle upright method of catching poultry and, together with several egg and poultry producers, have been catching the birds upright instead of inverted by the legs. Gentle upright catching was not something that could be put into place at all poultry farms in the Netherlands, as … [Read more...] about More and more chicken-catching companies, encouraged by the Dutch Chicken Catching Organization, refuse to catch birds upright
Presentation to DEFRA’s expert-committee on the catching, loading and transportation of poultry
This morning we gave a presentation to the UK government agency DEFRA and their committee of experts AWC (Animal Welfare Committee). We shared our knowledge, experiences and advice on 'upright' catching, as well as showing them the conventional methods of catching, loading and transporting. Sadly we continue to see serious welfare issues, such as hens flying against metal … [Read more...] about Presentation to DEFRA’s expert-committee on the catching, loading and transportation of poultry
EonA shares ideas and advice with the International team from Meyn
Today Eyes on Animals gave a presentation to an International Team from Meyn. Meyn develops transportation modules and slaughter lines for poultry and is a market leader in this field. To make animal welfare an important consideration in the development of their future products, Meyn asked us to share our experiences and our ideas. Among other things we gave … [Read more...] about EonA shares ideas and advice with the International team from Meyn
Kipster puts practical ideas into place, but not all birds caught upright
Tonight the “spent” laying hens of Kipster in Beuningen were to be caught and loaded for transport. Kipster employees spent 5 hours installing wire fencing along the entire bottom of all of their aviaries to block the birds from going underneath the installation, so that upright catching could also be very efficient. Normally catchers have to go underneath the … [Read more...] about Kipster puts practical ideas into place, but not all birds caught upright
EonA and Welfarm Training of gendarmes in Hautes Alpes, France
Today, together with the French NGO Welfarm, we held a very effective training day for the gendarmes and official veterinarian services in the Hautes- Alpes department. After the 3-hr training course on the European legislation on the protection of animals during transport we went to the National roads and stopped 4 animal trucks carrying sheep and … [Read more...] about EonA and Welfarm Training of gendarmes in Hautes Alpes, France
Visit to Westfort pig slaughterhouse in IJsselstein during extreme heat
Aufgrund der extremen Hitze besuchten wir heute den Schweineschlachthof Westfort in IJsselstein (NL). Die Wartezeiten zu Beginn des Tages (11:00-13:30) betrugen 20-25 Minuten. Das ist nicht schlecht für einen so großen Schlachthof. Die Lastwagen konnten innerhalb weniger Minuten nach ihrer Ankunft unter dem Vordach (Schattennetz) stehen. Unter der Überdachung befinden sich … [Read more...] about Visit to Westfort pig slaughterhouse in IJsselstein during extreme heat
Visit to Vion slaughterhouse in Boxtel during extreme hot weather
Today Eyes on Animals revisited Vion pig-slaughterhouse in Boxtel (NL) because of the extreme hot weather (30-33°C). When we arrived a few minutes before 4:00 pm the property was empty. The delivery of pigs had stopped. Even though we think a transport-stop during this hot weather (>30°C) should be standard practice, we are happy to see this in action. During our last … [Read more...] about Visit to Vion slaughterhouse in Boxtel during extreme hot weather
Upright catching of Kipster-hens in Beuningen (NL)
Tonight we were at a Kipster laying-hen farm in Beuningen (NL) - where 22,000 "spent" hens were being caught for transport to slaughter. A television-crew from a well-known German channel were there as were some of our German colleagues. At Kipster, all hens are caught using the EonA upright method (max. 2 hens at a time and always held upright and … [Read more...] about Upright catching of Kipster-hens in Beuningen (NL)
