This afternoon we visited a company in Coevorden (NL) that makes plastic products including the “diamond”-shape poultry crates for a great number of slaughterhouses and transport companies. The main objective of our visit was to discuss the design of the poultry crates regarding safety, accessibility, hygiene and possible alternatives with access doors on the side. They also produce crates with side doors which are easy for people to open from the outside but chickens inside cannot fall out. It would be a great way to access birds during transport that are injured or suffering and need help. Unfortunately though, due to the measurements of theses crates, they are loaded so that the side-access doors do not face the outside on the truck but instead the inside. This means that there is no way of accessing the birds once the crates are piled. We proposed that the company works on this crate further so that the access doors can actually be opened during transport.
Another positive aspect of these particular crates was that the size of the gaps on the lower and uppers surfaces is small avoiding chickens´ limbs and heads from getting stuck or crushed.
We will keep in contact with this company and send them our final report on Chicken Welfare Problems During Transport.
Eyes on Animals -
26.04.2012 Visit of kunsstoffabriek Coevorden
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Transport
All farmed animals are transported at least once in their lifetime. Journeys can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks. Transport is known to be one of the most stressful experiences for animals. They are moved from a familiar territory to a new one and are held often under very crowded conditions. They get separated from each other and mixed with unfamiliar animals, which can lead to stress and fighting. Sometimes there is no water and feed available or the animals cannot reach it. Animals that wish to lie down during the journey are at risk of being trampled by the others. Sometimes conditions on board are very cold or very hot, leading to animals dying from hypothermia and suffocation. There are laws in place to prevent these types of problems, but there is very little official inspection during the journey to check if these laws are respected. Eyes on Animals regularly trails and checks livestock transport consignments to see if the welfare of the animals is respected during transit.
