The proper treatment of animals must also be ensured during animal transport. We cooperate with transport companies or directly with farmers who have the respective certification and knowledge about animal transport. This is required by law. It is important to us that transport companies and the farmers work exclusively with modern vehicles that offer the animals enough space and fresh air. More than 90 percent of all pigs that are delivered to us come from the region, with transport times of less than two hours.
During delivery, we eliminate waiting times as much as possible – especially in the heat of the summer and during the cold weeks of winter.
Improper behavior by drivers is addressed immediately. In the case of it being repeated, or any other blatant animal welfare violations, we terminate the cooperation and file charges.
All of our farming partners are united by their professional and respectful treatment of animals – regardless of whether they are kept conventionally or alternatively. In many cases, the commitment of our farmers goes beyond existing legal requirements, as they further develop animal welfare and pork products as a result. We do our utmost to support these efforts.
If we determine that animals are not being treated correctly, we demand the situation be corrected immediately. In the event of blatant or repeated violations of animal welfare, we immediately terminate our cooperation, reporting incidents to the authorities.
As a slaughterhouse, we are not an isolated entity pursuing only our own goals. On the contrary, we are fully integrated into the value chain, from feed to finished meat products. We can only fulfill this integrative role if our partners in the value chain have the opportunity to understand and review our work. We rely on transparency to do this, and actively live this through social networks, open pricing with our business partners, and the active involvement of agriculture in the evaluation of slaughter procedures and results.
The farmers who supply us and the corresponding producer groups have access to our essential slaughter data at all times. In addition, our farmers are welcome to be present during the classification of their pigs through a window that allows a view into the so-called “white” area which shows the farmer the specific classification for each pig.
We work closely with the authorities and other institutions, maintaining continual, direct exchange with the veterinary office, the water board, and other administrative offices.
