Today our team visited Heinen slaughterhouse in Zelhem. Animals being slaughtered here are predominantly free-range pigs. No slaughter was taking place during our visit today. Andre Heinen gave us a tour of the facility. It is clear that the process of bringing in and stunning the pigs has been well thought out. The side walls of the passageways were solid and there was a lamp hanging above the fixation box. This eases the movement of the pigs forward and keeps stress low. Pigs are electrically stunned manually to render them unconscious before being bled out and hoisted.
It was agreed that we shall email Andre Heinen with a possible follow-up date so that we can inspect the handling and slaughter process in practice.
We would like to thank Andre Heinen for the inspirational conversation and his hospitability.