Today Eyes on Animals visited an Austrian pig and cattle meat company that, 4 years ago, built a new multi-million euro slaughterhouse with "animal-behaviour and emotions" as their main focus. Their goal was to set up the most humane slaughterhouse possible. They visited 38 other slaughterhouses around Europe to come up with the best design to keep stress and pain low. The … [Read more...] about Visit of Huetthaler slaughterhouse, Austria
slaughterhouse design
Visit to Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde, NL
Today Eyes on Animals visited Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde. It is a relatively small slaughterhouse, where pigs, cattle and sheep are slaughtered. The advantage of small plants is that there is often less time pressure to process large number of animals per hour, and thus more time to handle the animals calmly. But still, the personnel and equipment need to be … [Read more...] about Visit to Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde, NL
EonA advises on on-farm slaughtering initiative
Today Eyes on Animals had a meeting with two initiators of the Mobile Slaughtering Cooperative (CMS). CMS wants to develop a mobile pig slaughterhouse that can be placed on the farm itself – eliminating the need to transport the pigs. The pigs are stunned (made unconscious) in their familiar surroundings (in the barn or field) and are then further processed in the … [Read more...] about EonA advises on on-farm slaughtering initiative
Inspection of Willems pig slaughterhouse (NL) with unique crowdpen and stunbox
Today we visited Willems slaughterhouse in Druten. The owner designed his own version of the Bud box to minimalize stress for the animals when entering the restraint box. According to the owner this also has a positive effect on the quality of the meat. The design is based on the Bud box for cows. It is a square pen with an elongated swing gate. With the swing gate and … [Read more...] about Inspection of Willems pig slaughterhouse (NL) with unique crowdpen and stunbox
First meeting of committee “welfare improvement at pig slaughter”
Today, the committee on "welfare improvement in pig slaughter” met for the first time. The committee includes: Two scientific experts on stunning, a veterinarian specializing in pigs and their behavior, a technical expert on slaughter lines, an animal welfare manager from a large pig slaughterhouse and Eyes on Animals. Reasons for the committee Many pigs in … [Read more...] about First meeting of committee “welfare improvement at pig slaughter”
Six (Halal) slaughterhouses in Turkey now stun animals prior to slaughter
Since 2013 Eyes on Animals has been working hard at improving slaughterhouses in Turkey. Several plants were keen to work with us and made improvements, such as making the floors anti-slip, installing water troughs in the waiting pens, making the walls of the raceway solid… But what was a much more challenging improvement to get in place was getting the animals rendered … [Read more...] about Six (Halal) slaughterhouses in Turkey now stun animals prior to slaughter
pH of meat improved by 0.2 after Westfort improves animal-welfare
Last spring Eyes on Animals together with Dr. Kees Scheepens helped Westfort pig slaughterhouse develop a “Plan-of-Action” to significantly reduce animal-stress inside their plant. Westfort pig slaughterhouse started by intensively training their personnel on animal-welfare and how to carry out their specific tasks optimally. Each employee was then evaluated to be sure … [Read more...] about pH of meat improved by 0.2 after Westfort improves animal-welfare
Combating heat stress at Westfort pig slaughterhouse
A covered parking lot has been built at Westfort pig slaughterhouse so that trucks waiting in line to unload pigs can do so in the shade. This will help decrease the risk of heat stress for the animals stuck on board the waiting trucks. The covered parking lot can accommodate 3-4 trucks. Fans and water misters have been installed along the roof as well, to reduce the … [Read more...] about Combating heat stress at Westfort pig slaughterhouse
Follow-up check on Westfort pig slaughterhouse, NL
After Animal Rights released undercover footage from inside Westfort slaughterhouse last year, Eyes on Animals together with Dr. Kees Scheepens met with the managers of the plant and those responsible for quality to encourage them to take steps to reduce animal stress. They too were eager to make improvements. At the time, we walked through the slaughterhouse together, … [Read more...] about Follow-up check on Westfort pig slaughterhouse, NL
Training and testing at large European pig slaughterhouse – Phase 2
Today we returned to the European pig slaughterhouse that reached out for help so that we could continue testing out ways to reduce some of the stress the animals experience in their plant. We were pleased that they had been busy with construction and had made many improvements to the corridor and tunnel. The light from the windows that had been creating reflections … [Read more...] about Training and testing at large European pig slaughterhouse – Phase 2
