March 8, 2021

Dutch meat organisation develops new code for animal welfare at slaughterhouses

The Netherlands' Central Organization for the Meat Sector (COV) has crafted a code, known as the "Code for animal welfare at slaughterhouses", to further improve animal welfare at slaughterhouses.

The code will be implemented on May 1 and is included in the COV's code of conduct.

The annual number of animal welfare incidents is kept to a minimum in the Netherlands, partly due to the extra intensive camera monitoring, which goes further than the European guidelines. Even so, the COV wants to further reduce the number of incidents to zero.

The code requires that employees involved in animal welfare operations at slaughterhouses meet more often to exchange best practices and experiences.

Slaughterhouse employees involved in unloading animals will receive better and more intensive training each year and will be challenged to propose improvements themselves if necessary.

External animal welfare specialists are also called in to assess the assurance of animal welfare per farm and, if necessary, to make recommendations for further improvement. These specialists must meet standards set by the COV and are registered by the COV.

Finally, an annual report is drawn up on the operation, compliance and results of the code by means of a number of defined key performance indicators.

- COV (Netherlands)