The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has identified serious abuses at a medium-sized slaughterhouse in the province of Utrecht. For example, an employee has been caught bulling animals by stepping on them, hitting and kicking them.

The business process has been stopped and the so-called slaughterhouse accreditation has been suspended. It is also examined whether the conduct is grounds for a criminal investigation. Due to the ongoing procedure, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority does not want to name the slaughterhouse publicly.

NVWA supervisors in the slaughterhouse saw serious injuries on a sheep that the animal could only have suffered shortly before. Images were then reviewed of the camera surveillance in the slaughterhouse. It was then discovered that a slaughterhouse worker forcibly bulled the animals.

“We have found abuses that you just hope would not occur,” says Lisette de Ruigh, director of inspections at the NVWA. “This disrespectful treatment of animals is unacceptable. We are therefore taking a strong stand against it. This company has immediately experienced the consequences and can only slaughter again if it can demonstrate to the NVWA that animal welfare is structurally well guaranteed.”

Unfortunately, these sorts of abuses are not exclusive to this slaughterhouse, but still exist on a large scale. It is horrible to see what humans are still capable of and it needs to be prevented as much as possible.

Source: RTV Utrecht