Terschuur · Broiler chickens
Beter Leven 2 stars
This location in Terschuur keeps broiler chickens. This location holds the Beter Leven 2 stars certification.
The undercover investigation also included Thymen van Voorthuizen's farm in Terschuur. He has been awarded two stars by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming), but the research team witnessed more shocking incidents than at many other farms. For example, a sick chicken was completely pecked and had likely been dying for days. Another chicken had white-stained legs.
According to the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming), the Beter Leven barn must remain dark for at least eight hours at a time to ensure the chickens have a normal diurnal rhythm. Interestingly, the light in the barn was on when the research team arrived at 3:00 AM. The lights went out at 3:30 AM. This must mean that the Beter Leven chicks in Terschuur are not getting an eight-hour night's sleep. The barn has windows and is therefore illuminated even at sunrise. The research team visited the barn in September, when the sun set at 8:00 PM and rose at 7:00 AM. Therefore, it is impossible that it was, or would have been, dark in the barn for eight hours.
While the Netherlands was up in arms about broiler chickens, Ongehoord demonstrated that organic and Beter Leven chickens suffer from equally serious welfare problems. For the first time, images of parent stock were released.