Today we paid an unannounced visit to the pig assembly centre Van Rooi in Lieshout (NL). We were immediately given a tour of the lairage, where sows were being housed at the time. The animals were calm and resting, with enough space to lie on their sides without disturbing one another. The sawdust bedding was clean and fresh, and the overall impression was positive.
Van Rooi explained that they avoid mixing sows whenever possible, aiming to house animals from the same farm together in one pen. One advantage is that the pens—and therefore the groups—at Van Rooi are relatively small. At other assembly centres with larger pens, sows from different farms are more often mixed, which increases the risk of aggression and hierarchy-related fights. This is especially problematic because waiting pens are typically square or rectangular and offer no hiding places.
Van Rooi told us that the sows had arrived in the afternoon and would be transported the following morning to slaughterhouses in the Netherlands and Germany. However, no feed is provided during their stay. We discussed that this likely means the sows go without feed for approximately 24 hours, assuming their last meal was at the farm in the morning before transport. In our view, this is a very long period for high-production animals.
Eyes on Animals encourages assembly centres to provide feed to animals that are held for extended periods. According to EFSA (2020), feed deprivation beyond 12–16 hours already leads to increased aggression and skin injuries. Hungry animals are also harder to move—for instance, towards the truck or through the slaughterhouse—because they are restless and may have difficulty walking due to energy depletion. Van Rooi indicated that sows usually stay only a few hours, which is positive, but we hope they will consider feeding animals who remain overnight, such as the sows we saw today.
Finally, we discussed the gathering and transport of piglets. Eyes on Animals would very much like to observe the loading of piglets for export. Van Rooi responded positively to this request, and a visit will be scheduled soon.
We would like to thank Van Rooi for their openness and transparency. We see it as a positive sign that we are always welcome to observe and that they are open to discussing our recommendations.
