Two sheep were taken out of the garden on Thursday from a shawarma shop in Veldhoven. This confirms the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) on Saturday, on the second day of the sacrificial party. Together with the police, the NVWA checks during the sacrificial party at illegal slaughterhouses to see if slaughtering according to the rules happens, for example with anesthesia.
The NVWA went to the shawarma shop in Veldhoven on Thursday afternoon after a report. The two sheep were found in the garden there. In the garden there was also a barn where the animals stayed and where straw lay.
“The two sheep did have a hole in the ear, but no ear tag,” says Sandra van de Werd van Werden Diernoodhulp, the organization that the sheep picked up. According to her, the ear tags are often removed by the seller because people do not want people to find out behind the origin of the animals, or the animals have been stolen.
Reception location
The sheep were picked up by the animal welfare organization and brought to a reception location in Horn in Limburg. “There they are in quarantine, because we do not know where the animals come from. If after a blood test it turns out that they are healthy, we are looking for people who can give the animals a home,” says Van de Werd.
The Diernoodhulp Committee has agreements with the NVWA to be allowed to absorb sheep that do not have ear tags, and that are found for illegal slaughter for the sacrificial party by the police and NVWA. Previously, according to Van de Weren, these sheep were often taken to a slaughterhouse.
Slaughter
During the sacrificial party (eid al-Adha), NVWA veterinarians in slaughterhouses check clearly whether slaughtering according to the rules is done. Outside the slaughterhouses there are additional checks and the service comes into action after reports.
The fine for illegally unnecessary slaughter can amount to 103,000 euros. Vrideers also risk a prison sentence for up to six years, warns the NVWA. The sacrifice party lasts until Sunday.
