On the 5th of September 2010, Eyes on Animals discretely observed cattle trucks arriving at VION slaughterhouse in Tilburg. We saw a number of double-decker transport trucks in which the cattle had insufficient headspace. As a result, the cattle were not able to maintain their natural posture, which could in turn cause serious injury to head and back. At the time, we … [Read more...] about Adequate headspace finally for cattle being transported to Vion slaughterhouse in Tilburg
Our inspections
Cattle loaded double-deck truck without enough space
We were disappointed to observe three transport companies load cattle from an assembly center onto double-deckers that did not provide enough head-space for the animals. In particular we were disappointed that one of the companies belongs to a quality system that we have faith in. We observed cattle on board Hans Snel, Hoekstra en Zon and J.A.Haan transport trucks where … [Read more...] about Cattle loaded double-deck truck without enough space
Inspection of Leeuwarden cattle market
Eyes on Animals would like to congratulate the managers of this cattle market, which has gone from a market with serious welfare problems in 2005 to one of the "best" we have inspected. Since our last visit in 2009, they have installed more water troughs and built individual pens for bulls. There was also no violent handling of the animals today. We did question why some … [Read more...] about Inspection of Leeuwarden cattle market
Inspection of a Compaxo pig slaughterhouse in the Netherlands
Today we inspected Compaxo, a Dutch pig slaughterhouse, killing 600 pigs per hour. We watched the unloading of several pig trucks and the handling of the animals before and during slaughter. This plant uses electricity to stun the animals, instead of the now common but highly-debated method of CO2 gas. We were told that they were under pressure to switch to CO2 because … [Read more...] about Inspection of a Compaxo pig slaughterhouse in the Netherlands
Inspection of a pig collecting station
During the 35-40 degree hot weather today, Eyes on Animals was checking on the welfare of animals being transported to slaughter or for further fattening. We therefore also dropped by an export collecting center where pigs are grouped and sent for export after being checked by an official Dutch veterinarian hired by the VWA. We were shocked to hear that the VWA had already … [Read more...] about Inspection of a pig collecting station