Today Eyes on Animals visited an Austrian pig and cattle meat company that, 4 years ago, built a new multi-million euro slaughterhouse with "animal-behaviour and emotions" as their main focus. Their goal was to set up the most humane slaughterhouse possible. They visited 38 other slaughterhouses around Europe to come up with the best design to keep stress and pain low. The … [Read more...] about Visit of Huetthaler slaughterhouse, Austria
slaughterhouse design
Visit to Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde, NL
Today Eyes on Animals visited Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde. It is a relatively small slaughterhouse, where pigs, cattle and sheep are slaughtered. The advantage of small plants is that there is often less time pressure to process large number of animals per hour, and thus more time to handle the animals calmly. But still, the personnel and equipment need to be … [Read more...] about Visit to Agri4+ slaughterhouse in Lichtenvoorde, NL
EonA advises on on-farm slaughtering initiative
Today Eyes on Animals had a meeting with two initiators of the Mobile Slaughtering Cooperative (CMS). CMS wants to develop a mobile pig slaughterhouse that can be placed on the farm itself – eliminating the need to transport the pigs. The pigs are stunned (made unconscious) in their familiar surroundings (in the barn or field) and are then further processed in the … [Read more...] about EonA advises on on-farm slaughtering initiative
Inspection of Willems pig slaughterhouse (NL) with unique crowdpen and stunbox
Today we visited Willems slaughterhouse in Druten. The owner designed his own version of the Bud box to minimalize stress for the animals when entering the restraint box. According to the owner this also has a positive effect on the quality of the meat. The design is based on the Bud box for cows. It is a square pen with an elongated swing gate. With the swing gate and … [Read more...] about Inspection of Willems pig slaughterhouse (NL) with unique crowdpen and stunbox
First meeting of committee “welfare improvement at pig slaughter”
Today, the committee on "welfare improvement in pig slaughter” met for the first time. The committee includes: Two scientific experts on stunning, a veterinarian specializing in pigs and their behavior, a technical expert on slaughter lines, an animal welfare manager from a large pig slaughterhouse and Eyes on Animals. Reasons for the committee Many pigs in … [Read more...] about First meeting of committee “welfare improvement at pig slaughter”