Killing and slaughtering animals
If you want to kill or slaughter animals, strict regulations apply to all actions. You must have proof of your expertise and you must apply for recognition for your slaughterhouse.
Treating animals well
You must ensure that the animals suffer as little pain and trauma as possible during transport, accommodation, securing, stunning, slaughtering, or killing. The room in which the slaughtering takes place and the instruments used, must meet the requirements referred to in the European regulation on the protection of animals at the time of killing.
Applying for recognition
If you slaughter animals, you have to apply for recognition (in Dutch) of your slaughterhouse to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit, NVWA). Do you keep poultry or rabbits and do you slaughter in limited quantity on your own business premises? You may be exempted (in Dutch).
If you keep sheep or goats you can perform the slaughter yourself outside of a slaughterhouse if you adhere to strict conditions.
Do you slaughter or prepare game, or do you process meat from game obtained during hunting? You need to apply for recognition as a game processing facility (in Dutch). This does not apply if you are a hunter and supply small quantities to private individuals or local retail.
Do you keep poultry or farmed game? And do you slaughter these animals on your own premises, after which the carcasses are transferred to a slaughterhouse or cutting plant for inspection and cutting? In that case, you must also apply for recognition to the NVWA (in Dutch).
Unstunned religious slaughter
In the Netherlands, an animal must be stunned prior to slaughter using 1 of the permitted methods (in Dutch). You can find these methods in English on the factsheets of the European Commission. Different methods are permitted per animal species, such as a stun gun, electric stunning tong, or gas box.
An exception to this rule is made for religious slaughter in accordance with religious rites (in Dutch). Religious slaughter, without stunning the animals prior to slaughter, is allowed only if:
- it is performed in a recognised slaughterhouse (abattoir). You can apply for recognition to the NVWA (in Dutch)
- an NVWA supervisor (veterinarian) is present at every ritual slaughter without stunning
- a pre-cutter with a certificate of competence performs the slaughter
All requirements for ritual slaughtering of animals without stunning can be found on the NVWA-website (in Dutch).