• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • EYES ON ANIMALS – Watching out for their Welfare
  • English
  • Nederlands
  • Deutsch

Eyes on Animals

Watching out for their Welfare

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE
  • About us
    • What we do
    • Our team
    • Key Figures
    • Contact
  • News
    • Latest news
    • Good news
    • Bad news
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Inspections
    • Farms
    • Markets
    • Transports
    • Slaughterhouses
    • Special projects
    • Other
  • Training
    • Police
    • Truck drivers
    • Poultry-catchers
    • Slaughter personnel
    • Training Material
    • Request a training
  • Industry Tips
    • Animal transport
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
    • Slaughterhouses
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
      • Ritual slaughter
    • Educational videos
  • Publications
    • In the media
      • Print
      • Television
      • Radio
      • Videos
    • Newsletters
    • Special reports
    • Training Material
    • Annual reviews
  • Future Vision
  • Help us
Home » Our inspections » Visit to Westfort pig slaughterhouse in IJsselstein

Visit to Westfort pig slaughterhouse in IJsselstein

July 17, 2018

Today was very hot out so we brought an unannounced visit to Westfort pig slaughterhouse in IJsselstein (NL) to check on the condition of the pigs being brought to slaughter there. We arrived at around noon when the temperature was approximately 28 degrees Celsius. We spoke to the manager and an animal welfare officer of the slaughterhouse and together checked on some of the livestock trucks arriving with pigs on board. 

In comparison to other slaughterhouses Westfort has a big lairage (space to house 3200 pigs) with four unloading ramps and 4 truck-cleaning stations, which means pigs arriving by truck can often be unloaded quite fast instead of waiting on board in the heat. Nevertheless at the time we arrived there were 5 pig trucks waiting outside the slaughterhouse as all loading platforms were occupied. The manager explained that it is very difficult to completely prevent waiting times as sometimes many pig trucks all arrive at the same time. Planning is a day job. Some days the planning is met and everything goes smoothly, other days trucks have delays (due to traffic for example) and then too many pig trucks arrive at the same time. 

There were trees next to the waiting line, but because of the direction of the sun they did not offer proper shade. The manager told us that the trees provide shade from 13:30 onwards in the summer. There were no industrial mobile fans set up along the waiting line to blow air through the pig trucks. The cement ground under the parked trucks was wetted to decrease temperatures inside the trucks. The floor of Westfort’s lairage is very good- pipes run underneath it with cool water flowing in the summer to keep the floor cool (17 degrees Celsius) for the pigs arriving in the summer heat and warm for the pigs arriving in the winter. 

Westfort experimented with spraying the roofs of the parked trucks with water, but unfortunately this idea was not deemed effective in reducing heat-stress. Eyes on Animals explained to Westfort that spraying the hot roofs of livestock trucks, without the use of fans to blow the air off, results in an increase in humidity inside the truck. If humidity levels rise pigs have more troubles releasing excessive heat.

Temperature and Humidity StressThe pigs we were able to check on, that were waiting on board stationary trucks, were in general, showing limited signs of heat stress. However, we did have serious concerns for the welfare of the pigs arriving in a closed livestock truck that used forced interior ventilation. The pigs inside make a very restless and overheated impression (almost all were panting). On the top floor it was 28.8 degrees Celsius with a humidity level of 62%. It is likely that this was even higher before we took our measurements because the driver had opened the loading ramp for us. We also observed heatstress in a truck that had grids in front of the ventilation bars. We have expressed our concerns to Westfort about accepting these two sorts of trucks during hot summer days and will also contact the designer of the trucks. We would like cross-ventilated trucks to also have a humidity sensor (now they only have a temperature sensor).

Trucks at Westfort
Ventilated truck

We have advised Westfort to buy and install large industrial fans to reduce the humidity inside parked livestock trucks so that the pigs waiting on board can better cope with high temperatures. We have also advised them to create shadow for the livestock trucks that come before 13:30 (when the trees do not yet offer shade). Westfort was open to these suggestions.

We would like to thank Westfort for their time and tour around their parking lot.

  • share 
  • tweet 
  • share 
  • save 
  • email 

Filed Under: Our inspections, slaughterhouses Tagged With: animal welfare inspection, pig slaughterhouse, pigs, slaughterhouse design, slaughterhouses

Primary Sidebar

Search

Featured

Upright chicken catching project on German and French TV

ZDF and Arte recently televised EonA’s project to reduce stress, pain and injuries by catching hens … [Read More...] about Upright chicken catching project on German and French TV

Featured

Interview with Lesley Moffat for the podcast-show “See differently’

For the podcast-show “See differently” Christel van Raaij has a personal interview with Lesley … [Read More...] about Interview with Lesley Moffat for the podcast-show “See differently’

Our most recent newsletter

Dear friends,

I first discovered the bad side of factory-farming and industrial slaughter when I was a young girl of twelve.
When I visited a livestock market I saw a pile of sick animals left for dead behind the building. At a huge industrial poultry slaughterhouse, I saw dozens of live chickens walking around the bloody floor…

 

Read more…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Eyes on Animals op Twitter

eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
3h

Daar gaan we dan weer! #veetransport

Reply on Twitter 1638098110252556292 Retweet on Twitter 1638098110252556292 Like on Twitter 1638098110252556292 2 Twitter 1638098110252556292
varkensinnood Varkens in Nood @varkensinnood ·
19h

Inspectierapporten van de NVWA omschrijven schokkende overtredingen in slachthuizen. Varkens worden niet goed verdoofd en kunnen weer bij bewustzijn komen terwijl ze aan de slachthaak hangen 😢 Wij eisen zero tolerance voor deze overtredingen! #brandbrief https://www.varkensinnood.nl/zerotolerance?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=slachthuizen-2023

Reply on Twitter 1637852207654510592 Retweet on Twitter 1637852207654510592 53 Like on Twitter 1637852207654510592 82 Twitter 1637852207654510592
agrilandireland Agriland @agrilandireland ·
21h

Case of mad cow disease confirmed in Cornwall - http://Agriland.ie https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/case-of-mad-cow-disease-confirmed-in-cornwall/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1679323825

Reply on Twitter 1637828947692929029 Retweet on Twitter 1637828947692929029 3 Like on Twitter 1637828947692929029 2 Twitter 1637828947692929029
Load More...

ANBI

Footer

Donate with Paypal

Paypal Eyes on Animals
One-time donation:
Monthly donation:

Reading Material

  • In the Media
  • Newsletters
  • Special EonA reports
  • Legislative texts
  • ANBI

Our Amsterdam Office

Amsterdam House Hotel
Eyes on Animals main office is in downtown Amsterdam, at the Amsterdam House Hotel. The generous and warm-hearted hotel owner donated to Eyes on Animals, free of charge, a beautiful room where our inspectors can work, hold meetings and store their material.

Copyright © 2023 · Eyes on Animals | Website by Webkompaan