Animal Welfare

Animal welfare receives a great deal of attention from society and consumers alike. Van Loon Group recognises the strategic importance of animal welfare for the company and its stakeholders. Although Van Loon Group does not keep animals, as a supply chain coordinator, it does have influence on animal welfare throughout all parts of the chain.

This concerns chain partners within our own supply chain and meat raw materials that Van Loon Group purchases under certified animal welfare programmes.

For pork and beef, we have set up our own chains certified according to the Beter Leven Keurmerk or SKAL. We aim to process as much meat from our own chains as possible. Together with our customers and chain partners, we are working to make our chains even more sustainable, with animal welfare central to our efforts. Besides raw materials from our own chain, Van Loon Group also buys meat from third parties. Our purchasing requirements stipulate that we do not buy any meat from slaughterhouses that slaughter without stunning. This also applies to Halal raw materials.

Our customers are continuously involved in setting objectives, and we also consider the interests of NGOs and industry organisations. Livestock coordinators at our raw material companies work closely with our farmers and other stakeholders to continuously improve and further develop our own pork and beef supply chains – particularly around animal welfare. This not only impacts the animals within our supply chain but also affects the farmer, customer, and consumer.

Compliance with the animal welfare requirements of the various programmes is assessed by independent bodies. Progress on the objectives is published transparently in the CSR Annual Report.

• ESRS G1 – Business Conduct
• Beter Leven certification from Animal Protection Society
• European Organic label
• SKAL-certification

Meat from certified animal welfare programmes

CEO

Van Loon Group aims to accelerate discontinuation of pig tail docking. To support pig farmers in doing this responsibly, we are involved in three projects that aim to build knowledge in this area:

First Movers A group of five pig farmers meet regularly to exchange knowledge. This project is supervised by Wageningen University.

Tail Challenge In this project, the experiences of seven pig farmers raising pigs with intact tails are collected and shared with the rest of the supply chain. Most of these farmers have already stopped docking piglets’ tails.

Gut2Go This project investigates the influence of nutrition and hygiene on the prevention of tail-biting behaviour.

As this requires time and effort, participants receive compensation of €10 per pig. In 2024, a total of 29,554 pigs were not tail-docked. The aim is to completely end tail docking by 2030 at the latest.

Good health is a key factor in animal welfare. Within our supply chain programme Varken op z’n Best (Pig at its Best), we use various indicators for this, including the number of slaughter abnormalities and the use of antibiotics. In 2024, the average antibiotic use on sow farms increased slightly, mainly due to a significant outlier at one farm. The number of farms exceeding the SDA action threshold remained unchanged compared to previous years.

Among weaned piglets, both the median and average antibiotic use increased slightly compared to 2023. This means that, overall, antibiotics usage has risen slightly. In 2024, several farms experienced health issues among piglets, particularly outbreaks of Streptococcus suis and Glaesserella parasuis. The farms were contacted, and actions taken by the pig farmers together with their veterinarians to reduce antibiotic use.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) is a bacterium present on most pig farms. In addition to causing sudden death, it mainly leads to lung and pleural infections. To encourage pig farmers to take targeted action, a bonus for APP-free piglets was introduced in 2024.

In 2025, at least three meetings will be organised in collaboration with the Tail Challenge partnership to exchange knowledge and experiences regarding the keeping of pigs with undocked tails.

Together with Compaxo, we are starting a project to automatically measure tail length (and condition) on the slaughter line using cameras.

In 2025, we will organise an information session for sow farmers about (the requirements of) free-movement farrowing pens, in collaboration with the project group of The First Mover. This year, we will also begin offering compensation for piglets born in free-movement farrowing pens.

The programme for APP-free piglets will continue. Pig farmers will receive a bonus of €0.50 per APP-free piglet.