Thanks to the intervention of Eyes on Animals, a number of pig slaughterhouses are now better prepared to protect animals from the summer heat
Whether we like it or not, this summer hundreds of thousands of Dutch pigs will be sent for slaughter despite the hot temperatures – within the Netherlands but also to other European countries, such as Germany. Pigs cannot sweat and thus have extreme difficulty coping with hot temperatures.
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We are particularly concerned when the trucks are stationary, as the temperature inside then rises very quickly and the pigs show signs of extreme heat stress (foaming at the mouth, heavy panting, nausea and eventual apathy).
At many slaughterhouses pigs are left to wait for hours on board trucks before being unloaded. The infrastructure is outdated- the slaughterhouses do not have enough lairage space for the increasing volume of pigs they now slaughter.
When we see this type of situation, we immediately enter into dialogue with the slaughterhouse manager in order to bring about improvements. In the longer term, we want them to build larger lairages, but in the immediate term we insist on:
- Better logistics so trucks do not arrive all at the same time
- Covered and shady parking spaces
- Spraying water on the asphalt underneath the trucks
- Large industrial fans to create a wind for the pigs on the parked trucks
Fortunately, a number of pig slaughterhouses have adopted our advice on how to reduce some of the heat stress. Weidemerk slaughterhouse in Germany has bought industrial fans and built a new lane along a row of trees, where pig trucks can now park in the shade and Vion slaughterhouse in The Netherlands has bought industrial fans and waters down the asphalt.
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We hope that you understand that Eyes on Animals would prefer that these transports not take place at all. But sadly such a solution would be only utopic for the time being. That is why we do everything we can now to at least reduce some of the animal suffering. Also this summer we will check on pig trucks arriving at slaughterhouses and get more improvements in place.
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If you as well find it important that animals do not suffocate from the heat this summer, please won’t you consider a donation so that we can continue with these efforts ?
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