After Djurrättsalliansen (The Animal Rights Alliance) published video material from a Swedish KRAV slaughterhouse last week, as first reported via TV4, reactions were massive and the slaughterhouse has now been forced to close down.
Last Tuesday, Djurrättsalliansen published video material from a Swedish KRAV slaughterhouse. The KRAV label stands for organic/good animal welfare. The material, filmed with a hidden camera, shows what the animals are exposed to when employees assume that no one is watching. Pigs are kicked in the face, hit with chains, beaten with sticks, and given electric shocks. In addition to the animal abuse, the videos show serious animal welfare violations in the practices of ordinary slaughter. Reactions from the public have been massive after the exposé and several celebrities have brought attention to the videos through social media. TV4 has reported that the slaughterhouse is now closing down.
“At the moment, it is difficult to process that no more animals, at least at this slaughterhouse, will have to endure the horror that these videos expose. This sparks, of course, many emotions including relief, even if this does not mean the end to the fact that animals will continue to be brutally killed at other slaughterhouses. But it is of course a big victory that shows that we really do make a difference for the animals and that the methods that we use are necessary”, says Malin Gustafsson, spokesperson for Djurrättsalliansen.
The exposed slaughterhouse has previously had its fair share of scandals. In 2016, the slaughterhouse was reported and convicted of violating the Animal Welfare Act, when the County Administrative Board and the National Food Administration, discovered that animals were not sufficiently anesthetized during slaughter, amongst other things. Despite this, the slaughterhouse was allowed to continue with their operations, and the County Administrative Board has not carried out a single inspection of the slaughterhouse since 2016.
Following Djurrättsalliansen’s exposé, the issue of camera surveillance has been raised and the question was debated in Swedish Parliament. Member of European Parliament, Jytte Guteland, has reacted strongly to the video material and has said that she wants to see more pressure put on the EU-Commission and member states to act for better animal husbandry, as well as the possibility for camera surveillance in slaughterhouses within the EU to be considered.
”We will never forget all of the animals that have been put to death because people want to eat meat. But every slaughterhouse that closes is a victory and we will continue to fight so that no animals will be exposed to the violence and abuse that all slaughter entails. When the videos have been shown in the media, the public have been warned about “strong images”. That we can’t even see how our so-called “food” is made because it is too violent, should be enough for us to understand that what we’re doing to animals is wrong. No violence should be accepted in our society and we have to stop seeing animals as food”, says Malin Gustafsson.
More information about Djurrättsalliansen in English.
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