Abuses uncovered in Houbensteyn's viewing stable

Pigs with wounds, abscesses, respiratory issues, dead pigs, and contaminated tripe were found in the investigation into the Houbensteyn Beter Leven stable in Ysselsteyn, Limburg. Owner Martin Houben operates nearly one hundred thousand pigs across 10 farms and receives a €15 million subsidy, making him a significant player in the industry. The facility features a viewing area that allows visitors to see a small section of the pigs. However, when the investigation team explored other parts of the facility, they uncovered serious abuses. The pens do not meet regulations or Beter Leven requirements. With at least 12,000 pigs raised for meat, this facility qualifies as a mega farm, which is not allowed to carry the Beter Leven welfare certification.

The research

Houbensteyn's public viewing space

At Ysselsteynseweg 40 in Ysselsteyn, the Houbensteyn Group operates a viewing stable. This stable has received one Beter Leven star from the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming). The public viewing area is at the front of the building. Visitors can glimpse a small section of the stable through a window. Informative signs show farm employees interacting with piglets and pigs.

Hidden abuses

In the barn area hidden from public view, Ongehoord filmed instances of abuse. Pigs were kept in pens that violated regulations and Beter Leven requirements. These animals faced serious welfare issues, both in their behavior and physical health. Additionally, the Core Registration of Animal Housing, a government database, indicates that the facility is licensed to house 15,204 animals. Owner Martin Houben claims to keep only 12,000 pigs at the location under investigation. This number exceeds the limit set for the Beter Leven quality mark. The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) prohibits mega farms, which are locations housing more than 7,551 pigs raised for meat, from receiving its quality mark.

Behavioral disorders due to boredom and frustration

Pigs are curious and intelligent animals. In their natural habitat, which consists of forests that offer shelter and ample food, they spend a great deal of time foraging and exploring. In barns, however, they lack these opportunities, which quickly results in boredom. A recent report from EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, highlights the lack of foraging and exploring as one of the most critical welfare issues in pig farming. Boredom and frustration can cause the animals to develop behavioral disorders.^[1]

On the other hand, we observe reduced chronic stress and quicker recovery after stress when pigs are allowed to engage in more natural behaviors.^[2][3] However, these opportunities are constrained by the industry's production demands. Some cage enrichments have no positive effect or may even harm the pigs' welfare. For instance, the straw chute, which provides a tube of straw for pigs to nibble on, does not prevent tail biting.^[4] Removing the farrowing crate for mother pigs results in a higher number of crushed piglets.^[5] Group housing for mother pigs, made mandatory by European animal welfare legislation since 2013, has led to increased aggression issues and claw disorders.^[6]

According to Article 1.3 of the Animal Welfare Act, animals should be free to express their natural behaviors. However, in the pig industry, standard barn flooring consists of concrete and slatted floors. This setup prevents pigs from engaging in their natural behavior of rooting in loose material with their heads down.

European Directive 2008/120 requires that pigs have constant access to enrichment materials. The brochure "Information brochure on pig enrichment materials" from the Beter Leven Quality Mark Foundation states that straw tubes fulfill the enrichment criteria, even though they do not stop tail biting. The straw tubes must be continuously filled.^[7][8]

The footage from Ongehoord shows pigs biting each other's ears, sucking on the teats of another pig, and playing with a dead cage mate. The pigs lack permanent access to enrichment. The straw tubes used for cage enrichment at Houbensteyn were empty. Cobwebs in the tubes indicate they hadn't been refilled in a while.

Respiratory problems due to polluted and unhealthy stable climate

Pigs are clean animals with highly sensitive noses. In their natural environment, pigs avoid soiling their resting areas. Mother pigs instruct their young to urinate and defecate in a designated manure area, situated 5 to 15 meters away from the nest.^[9]

In pig pens, however, the animals reside in and above their own feces. The air in the barn leads to respiratory infections, resulting in painful breathing and coughing, as shown in the footage captured by Ongehoord at Houbensteyn. According to the European Food Safety Authority, respiratory issues, along with limited foraging opportunities, rank among the most significant welfare concerns in the pig industry.^[10]

Although Article 2.5 of the Decree on Animal Keepers states that the stable climate (including air quality, dust levels, etc.) in an animal's environment must not be harmful, research conducted by the NVWA (2018) revealed that the stable climate in Dutch pig houses is severely lacking: half of the animals are affected by pneumonia and pleurisy.^[11] At the end of 2021, then-Minister of Agriculture Schouten acknowledged that the NVWA's work protocols were insufficient to tackle the polluted and unhealthy barn climate in the pig industry.^[12]

Umbilical hernias and abscesses

In the screened-off pens of the Houbensteyn viewing barn, Ongehoord discovered pigs with large umbilical hernias. An umbilical hernia occurs when abdominal contents protrude through a cavity at the navel. These hernias can become so large that they drag on the ground, causing skin inflammation and making it difficult for the pigs to move comfortably. The contents of an umbilical hernia typically include intestines and other abdominal materials, but it can also be an abscess filled with pus. Most umbilical hernias originate from infections at the umbilical site, often developing in the farrowing pen.^[13]

Pigs were also observed with abscesses on their legs. Leg issues and lameness are prevalent in the pig industry, frequently resulting from joint inflammation.^[14] Movement difficulties are also included on the EFSA list of the most significant issues in the pig industry. These are painful conditions that lead the animal to walk abnormally or even prevent it from standing upright.^[15] According to Article 1.3 of the Animals Act, animals must be safeguarded from injury, pain, and disease.

Premature mortality

In a pen, Ongehoord filmed a pig that had died prematurely. This is not surprising, as premature death is recognized as a systemic issue in the pig industry. In the Dutch pig industry, 12.2% of piglets die in the farrowing pen. For mother pigs, the premature mortality rate is 6%, while for finishing pigs, it is 2.5%. Annually, this affects 4 million farrowing piglets and over half a million finishing pigs and mother pigs.^[16]

Ongehoord's investigation over the years has consistently shown that animal welfare laws, measures, and quality marks do not stop animals from suffering severely in food production.

The Houbensteyn Group

Gigantic pig farm

The Houbensteyn Group consists of twelve locations in Ysselsteyn, Heide, and Grubbenvorst. These include fattening farms where pigs are raised for slaughter and breeding farms where sows give birth to piglets. Additionally, there is an AI station where boars produce semen for artificial insemination. The group also operates factories for producing compound feed and processing manure.^[17] According to the Limburg Animal Shelters Register, which is a database containing permit data and notifications from livestock farms, the Houbensteyn Group is authorized to keep a total of 99,500 female pigs, boars, young piglets, and finishing pigs. Piglets that are up to 4 to 5 weeks old and still nursing from their mother are not included in this count.^[18]

The exact number of animals in the Houbensteyn stables is unclear because permit numbers and actual counts can differ. The Houbensteyn Group's largest facility is the controversial mega farm located on Laagheide in Grubbenvorst. This multi-tiered farm houses over 30,000 pigs.

Beter Leven quality mark

At Ysselsteynseweg 40 in Ysselsteyn, the Houbensteyn Group operates a display stable that has received one Beter Leven star from the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming). While Houbensteyn asserts on her website that all animals are maintained according to the Beter Leven standards, this applies to only 6%.^[19]

Only the Ysselsteynseweg location has a Beter Leven star.^[20][21] The other farms in the group are standard barns that do not have star ratings and lack public viewing areas.

Houbensteyn pigs are processed at Vion. The Beter Leven pigs from the display stable are intended for the regional supermarket chain Jan Linders, where their meat is marketed under the brand name ‘Variande’ featuring a ‘regional product sticker’ and a ‘Beter Leven 1 star sticker’.^[22] No details are available regarding the sales of standard meat from other locations, which represents the bulk of Houbensteyn's production.

Circular agriculture

According to research by De Groene Amsterdammer, Houbensteyn is the largest methane emitter in the Dutch agricultural sector, with emissions exceeding 300,000 kilograms. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more harmful to the climate than CO₂.^[23][25] However, because Houbensteyn utilizes residual flows as pig feed and ferments manure, the company aligns with the 'circular agriculture model' that the Dutch government aims to implement to make food production more sustainable.^[25]

The Houbensteyn Group's large barn in Grubbenvorst, housing over 30,000 animals, is part of the New Mixed Farm, a collaboration among agricultural companies in Limburg. Alongside Houbensteyn, the New Mixed Farm features the contentious mega-farm "Kuijpers Kip" in Grubbenvorst. Kuijpers raises more than 1 million broiler chickens and operates its own hatchery and slaughterhouse.^[27]

Despite considerable public opposition to the large pig and chicken farms, Houbensteyn and Kuijpers Kip were awarded the 2019 business prize by the municipality of Horst aan de Maas for their New Mixed Farm. The professional jury, made up of individuals from the business and banking sectors, recognized the New Mixed Farm as a pioneer in circular agriculture, emphasizing that "people and animals are central."^[28]

Subsidies: more than 15 million euros in ten years

The RVO database indicates that the Netherlands Enterprise Agency awarded the Houbensteyn Group €304,345 in European agricultural subsidies over the last two years.^[29] Subsidy amounts from earlier years are not accessible; European subsidies are removed from the public database after two years. From 2009 to 2019, Houbensteyn received over 14 million euros from the Dutch government for solar energy and biomass installations.^[30]

In total, we discovered over €15 million in subsidies for the past ten years. However, this figure does not represent the complete amount, as European agricultural subsidies prior to 2020 are not publicly accessible. Houbensteyn's website also notes subsidies from the province of Limburg, but the provincial government does not disclose the amounts of support provided to agricultural businesses.^[32]