Evira’s pledge to look into the practices of stockyard facilities followed a discussion on Yle’s MOT programme Monday night, which included video footage of apparent abuse of animals at slaughterhouse facilities.
In a release issued Tuesday, Evira said the material gave officials reason to suspect that some facilities had violated animal protection regulations. The video material had been recorded by the animal rights NGO, Rights for Animals (Oikeutta eläimille) at four different slaughterhouses.
According to the animal rights activists, the animals in the facility were beaten and subjected to electric shocks during the slaughter process. The organisation also claimed that veterinarians present at the time did not intervene.
Evira said that it would work with its veterinary inspectors to put an end to the practices shown in the video. It also said it would investigate the actions of abattoir vets who were present during some of the scenes depicted in the video.
The food safety watchdog added that if it found that the supervising vets were aware of the violent practices and did not intervene to stop the cruelty, Evira would also have to take action against them.
Evira noted that if necessary, it would request a police investigation into the facilities shown in the video that aired on MOT Monday night. The agency pointed out that butchers have a responsibility to ensure that the animals they work with do not endure any pain or suffering, including when they are put to death.
