Dutch slaughterhouses agree to camera supervision against animal abuse

Economic Affairs State Secretary Martijn van Dam and slaughterhouses in the Netherlands came to an agreement on voluntary camera supervision to monitor against animal abuse. The cameras will make sure that there is a good view on all actions involving living animals. "You must be able to see every step in the process", Van Dam said to broadcaster NOS.

The Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA will have access to the slaughterhouse footage, but will not continually monitor it. The footage will mainly serve as a reliable source of information if there are suspicions of abuse. How long footage will be stored is still being discussed.

"The idea of surveillance is not only that you can detect violations, but especially to prevent them. If you know someone is watching, you take extra care", Van Dam said to the broadcaster. Van Dam stressed that the cameras will not replace the regular inspections.

The agreements were made with slaughterhouses affiliated with the major industry associations. The smaller slaughterhouses will be approached about camera supervision in the near future.

The camera supervision is in response to leaked footage showing horrible abuses in a Belgian slaughterhouse a few months ago. At the time, Dutch slaughterhouses welcomed the idea of camera supervision.