Suffering slaughterhouses…

 

I've always dreamt of becoming a vet, so that’s why it is important for me to talk about what the vet’s responsibilities are as regards how animals are treated in slaughterhouses…

In slaughterhouses, the vet has to check if the animals have any diseases and are treated well. In order to protect public health, the vet also monitors the quality of the meat and the establishment’s general hygiene conditions. The time spent controlling the animals' well-being is often insufficient; it's not the vet's fault if animals suffer. Animals are sometimes badly treated and this is mainly the slaughterhouses’ fault.

In order to maintain profitability, the number of workers is often inadequate and many are under-qualified. They are recruited on their physical strength and not because of their know-how with animals. Most of the suffering of the animals comes at the stunning stage (when the animal is meant to be rendered unconscious using a captive bolt device); the pace of work is often so fast that the workers do not have time to do this properly and sometimes the animals are cut up whilst still alive...

I think there should be more workers and they should all be well-qualified. Also, surveillance cameras should be installed in all slaughterhouses in order to check that the correct methods of slaughter are respected at all times. This is especially necessary as there are too few vets.

Espérance de FELIGONDE