A commitment to animal welfare: South Tyrolean butcher Alexander Holzner

From a living thing to the food on your table

Alexander Holzner is a butcher - and is committed to stress-free slaughter to ensure better animal welfare.

Is this serious perspective and considerate talk typical of a butcher? Alexander Holzner learnt the profession at a young age and continued through to his retirement, breaking many stereotypes. On a stool in the background are the words “Animals think” by the philosopher Richard David Precht. A book which explores animal rights and the proper treatment of animals.

Slaughter with care

“I didn’t feel good,” says Holzner when asked about his key business. At some point, it became clear to him, the son taking over the family business: it cannot go on like this. Holzner sought scientific support from various vets from the outset to implement his concept. Today he is known as one of the first butchers to carry out stress-free slaughter. As part of the process, the slaughterer travels direct to the farm where the animals live. This is not an unsupervised private slaughter process but rather adheres to all EU regulations in terms of animal protection, worker protection, hygiene and professionalism.

Armin Huber

Guaranteed care

To ensure success, specific procedures must be followed carefully. A few days before the slaughter, Alexander Holzner brings a crush to the farm, a kind of frame containing food for the animal so that the animal can get used to the environment. On the day of the slaughter, the animals are lured here and after stunning, are driven into a docked trailer. Usually the animal does not notice what is about to happen.

This is in contrast to conventional slaughter, not to mention the laborious and often stressful live transport of animals. The stress and fear experienced by the animals are apparent even to those with no training.

IDM Südtirol-Alto Adige/Armin Huber

Before going to slaughter, animal-friendly husbandry is practised.

What do you yourself look for when you purchase meat?
How the animal is treated is important to me. The farmers who supply to us are committed to following a comprehensive animal welfare concept, from the feed to the free roam. We must stay aware that we have a living creature with feelings in our care.

What do you recommend to your customers?
Appreciating the meat also involves extensive use of all parts of the meat. Consumers therefore need to have an awareness of this. There is more than just rump steak; there are also some other very delicious parts such as the tongue, heart and liver.

Text: Teseo La Marca
Photos: Armin Huber