Today Eyes on Animals was asked by the owner of Mulder abattoir to discuss future ideas the plant could take into account to help reduce fear and pain of goats and sheep when slaughtered. Awhile ago, Mulder abattoir went on fire and a lot of the plant was damaged. They thus had to shut down and are now in the midst of re-building – a perfect chance to start from scratch with new and better ideas. We discussed a coral crowd pen for the new raceway, based on a sketch by Dr. Temple Grandin. This design will likely make herding sheep and goats through from a group raceway into a single file (to then be rendered unconscious) a smoother and calmer process. We also discussed using large photos and positive sounds in the raceway area, so the animals would be less fearful when moved through and not feel “alone”. Placing rubber on all gates and installing a dB monitor to keep track of unwanted noise peaks and keep noise down. We also discussed lighting, preventing shadows and having a strict protocol on keeping the electric stunners always clean and in good working order, and performing proper cuts so there is less risk of regaining consciousness or blood clots. There was a new woman hired by the plant with a lot of experience working with goats and a deep respect for them, a sort of “ goat whisperer”, who is going to help test out new ideas that can keep the animals at ease when moved forward. This is very positive, because we continue to see at many other sheep and goat plants we have been to abroad that the first goat or sheep is often dragged or electric prodded to get him moving so the rest will follow.
As long as the goat dairy industry is so focused on dairy and not on meat, male goat kids will be slaughtered at a very young age… We thus need to do everything possible today to keep their slaughter as “ humane” as possible. We are grateful to Daniel, Rene and Annette from the plant for the open discussion of their new plans and for taking all the new welfare ideas we came up with together today, into serious consideration. Slaughterhouse managers that think about animal behaviour and improve their design need to be commended as their plants cause much less suffering than ones where the focus is solely on profit. We will be invited back in a couple of months to see the progress.
