Tens of thousands of chickens subjected to severe suffering at Atria’s slaughterhouse
In 2023, Atria Sverige AB failed to meet animal welfare standards on at least 22 occasions, resulting in severe suffering for at least 67,000 chickens. The violations ranged from high mortality during transport to instances where chickens were at risk of being scalded alive, according to a new overview by Project 1882.
The chicken slaughterhouse owned by Atria Sverige AB had multiple animal welfare violations in 2023. Chickens arriving at the slaughterhouse were crushed in transport cages, and many suffered from severe burns. Inspection reports also reveal extremely high death rates during transport. On at least one occasion, it was suspected that a chicken was scalded alive, similar to incidents reported the previous year. Despite the Swedish Food Agency informing the responsible county administration about these issues, no physical inspections have been conducted at the slaughterhouse between 2021 and 2023.
Atria’s slaughterhouse is the third largest in Sweden, owned by the Finnish company Atria Oyj. In Sweden their products are sold under the brands ”Lagerbergs” and ”Lönneberga”.
– It is unacceptable that so many chickens suffer at Atria’s slaughterhouse. The fact that these issues have continued shows that authorities need better tools to take stronger action against this suffering, which risks affecting millions of individuals every year, says Benny Andersson, CEO of Project 1882.
The violations suggest that at least 67,000 chickens were mishandled in ways that subjected them to suffering and possible breaches of Swedish animal welfare laws. This number is higher than at other chicken slaughterhouses. The Swedish Food Agency issued 27 animal welfare inspection reports at Atria Sverige’s slaughterhouse last year. The county administration also inspected a rearing factory in the region. Deficiencies were found in 22 of the inspections, representing 76% of the total. The issues impacting the most chickens stemmed from the rearing factory farms and transportation but were not detected until after transport or even after the chickens were slaughtered.
Examples of animal welfare violations at Atria in 2023
● On at least one occasion, an “abnormally high number” of chickens had severe burns on their feet, indicating that tens of thousands of chickens suffered.
● On at least two occasions, an “abnormally high number” of chickens were found dead in the transport vehicle, affecting at least a thousand individuals.
● In 13 cases, chickens were found crushed in transport cages, or an “abnormally high number” of chickens were found dead or sick in transport vehicles, affecting thousands of individuals.
● On seven occasions, deficiencies were discovered at the slaughterhouse, and in at least one case, a chicken was found improperly bled, meaning this individual may have been scalded alive.
About the overview
By requesting inspection reports from the Swedish Food Agency and county administrative boards, Project 1882 has mapped out the animal welfare violations reported at Sweden’s four largest chicken slaughterhouses in 2023. The slaughterhouses included in the overview are Kronfågel AB, Guldfågeln AB, Torsåsen Fågelprodukter AB (which supplies meat under the Guldfågeln brand), and Atria Sverige AB (which supplies meat under the Lagerbergs and Lönneberga brands).
Read more about other chicken slaughterhouses:
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