Cattle and Calf Transport at Veveha in Sint-Oedenrode
A collection point for the export and domestic transport of calves and cattle. Owner Martien Verhagen is a lobbyist and board member of Veepro, part of the Vee&Logistiek advocacy group.
Milked Out
A cow that can no longer stand up. The cattle trader kicks her, yanks at her legs, and delivers more than forty electric shocks. When that has no effect, the cow, fully conscious, is dragged away with a shovel. Using hidden cameras, Ongehoord documented the loading and unloading of cows at five locations in the Netherlands. At these facilities, mother cows and their calves are kicked, beaten with sticks, or driven forward with electric shock devices.
Read moreVeveha is a collection point for calves and adult cattle, both within the Netherlands and for export. During the four days that Ongehoord filmed there, both calves and cows were present. Veveha does not have a public website, is not active on social media, and never contributes to articles or reports in the press.
The company is owned by Martien Verhagen, a lobbyist for the animal industry and featured in the Ongehoord footage. Verhagen serves on the board of Veepro, a division of Vee&Logistiek (the advocacy group for Dutch livestock traders, collectors, and animal transporters). Within Vee&Logistiek, Veepro focuses specifically on export. Veepro's main goal is to trade and transport breeding cattle from the Netherlands worldwide. To open even more export markets, Veepro organizes trade fairs, conferences, and trade missions. Veepro works closely with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), which is responsible for animal export documents.
Veepro members also include livestock dealer Dane (Oudemolen), De Keizer Vee (Oud-Alblas), and of course Veveha, the company of board member Martien Verhagen. The Ongehoord Investigation Group filmed animal abuse at all these locations.