Ongehoord published a detailed investigation into slaughterhouses in January 2020. An undercover employee filmed daily activities at the Westfort pig slaughterhouse in Ijsselstein in August 2019. Each week, this facility slaughters 50,000 pigs for meat production, at a rate of 650 animals per hour. Westfort is the third-largest pig slaughterhouse in the Netherlands, following Vion and Van Rooi Meat. The company is recognized by the NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) and holds certifications for producing pork with the EKO (organic), KDV (Sustainable Pork Chain), and Beter Leven welfare certifications.
The undercover investigation reveals that pigs arrive at the slaughterhouse under stressful conditions. Every day, animals with serious health issues, such as abscesses, umbilical hernias, tail-biting wounds, leg defects, heat stress, and exhaustion, are brought in. Workers routinely beat the pigs and grab them roughly by the ears and tails.
Before slaughter, pigs are gassed, electrocuted, or shot in the head with a captive bolt pistol. These painful "stunning methods" do not ensure that all animals are unconscious during the slaughter process. The footage shows a pig, with its throat cut, regaining consciousness and attempting to escape.
Following the undercover investigation, Ongehoord examined scientific literature to see if the footage from Westfort reflects the broader slaughter sector. The literature review indicates that the suffering filmed is typical of the practices found in all Dutch and European pig slaughterhouses. Each year, more than sixteen million pigs are slaughtered in the Netherlands. The transport conditions, the unfamiliar environment of the slaughterhouse filled with movement and noise, encounters with unfamiliar people and other animals, and the rushed, inhumane stunning and killing methods lead to high levels of stress, fear, and pain for these sensitive and intelligent animals.
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