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Slaughter house on route concerns

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Jules67

Starting my Camino April 2017
Time of past OR future Camino
SJPDP in April 2017
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?

Jules67:

I do not recall walking by a slaughter house on the Frances.

Ultreya,
Joe
 
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Thank you for your replies. I've heard it mentioned now on 2 different YouTube videos. Hopefully they were mistaken. I think I'd be traumatised ..
 
I asked my wife also,because se also walked alone and she was not walking by a slaughter house and me neither .
Wish you well ,Peter.
 
Thanks Peter. Feel better now..
 
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Could you give us the youtube link please?
 
The YouTube video is 'I would walk...' By Alexandra Liss

It's around 56 minutes into the video.
Thanks
 
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I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.

Ultreïa!!
 
I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.

Ultreïa!!

I agree, Sabine. Many people in the USA have come to believe that meat comes in nice plastic wrapped packages.
The Camino, in many different ways, is a peek into the reality of farm life.
 
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I did not hear or see or smell a slaughter house on the camino. But, unpleasant as it is, meat involves killing and cleaning an animal. I ended up learning how to "process" turkeys and chickens, when my terrier got into a turkey pen and killed and wounded a number of birds. Those that were hurt had to be slaughtered that night, and the farmer needed all the hands he could get. I will say, that now when I eat meat, I do so with more thankfulness and reverence for the life that is given to sustain me.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
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Please only answer if you have the answer to my question.. I didn't intend this to be a debate.
I apologise for those who are offended by some of these comments.
You have to bear in mind, some people don't like this and some people don't mind listening or even watching animals being killed. Please be respectful and mindful of those who don't..
I'm sorry I asked the question...
But thank you to those who answered without provoking debate
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I wonder if this has been a case of mistaken identity - the indoor pig farms can be pretty noisy and smelly and there are certainly a lot of those about in rural Spain.
I'm hoping so but thanks
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Please only answer if you have the answer to my question.. I didn't intend this to be a debate.
I apologise for those who are offended by some of these comments.
You have to bear in mind, some people don't like this and some people don't mind listening or even watching animals being killed. Please be respectful and mindful of those who don't..
I'm sorry I asked the question...
But thank you to those who answered without provoking debate

You see...threads are like talks in the communal dinner at albergues. You start with some apparently innocuous comments, and dialogues go in unexpected, sometimes controversial ways. I actually like that, provided that debates remains civil and respectful. Which, actually, it is the norm in this forum in the vast majority of cases.
I prefer a good discussion instead of the umpteenth question about "how can I go from X to Saint Jean Pied de Port"?
 
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Molinaseca is very famous for manufacturing sausage.
See more--
http://www.embutidoselabuelo.es/
The town even has a famous sculpture of a giant sausage in front of the Hotel Floriana which the CF passes!
I just can't resist.
As the saying goes, "those who respect the law and enjoy sausage should never watch either being made."

Buen Camino!
 
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Shots? Screams?:D:D
I was actually more concerned with some public hunting preserves in the Camino...I just hoped that the pilgrim season were not still open.:(:)
I never saw any public hunting preserves along the Camino Frances. Where would those be on the route? Also, to those not familiar with hunting, fear not if walking the Camino during the traditional fall hunting season. Nobody is roaming about randomly with a firearm shooting at whatever moves. That's pure BS. The hunting is done on private property, and they use dogs quite a bit to drive the deer or boars past standers who are posted up and stay there.
 
I wonder if this has been a case of mistaken identity - the indoor pig farms can be pretty noisy and smelly and there are certainly a lot of those about in rural Spain.
Yes, and I'm sure that's what that was. Domestic hogs are a noisy lot and very vocal, especially when eating and pushing and shoving each other around.
 
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I never saw any public hunting preserves along the Camino Frances. Where would those be on the route?
Tell that to @tyrrek who picked up some flesh wounds thanks to a Quail hunter while out litter-picking in the wilds of Palencia. The track through the Montes de Oca is a favourite stand for Boar hunters while the dogs work the forest. Happily they are all very Peregrino aware - and quite happy to share some coffee on a frosty morning.
 
The YouTube video is 'I would walk...' By Alexandra Liss

It's around 56 minutes into the video.
Thanks
"The smell of death and dung"? :D
Sounds like a deer camp I used to go to years ago in Texas. :D
All bad jokes aside, what the poor naive woman was probably talking about is the cow dung that you frequently encounter on the Way as you pass through the villages. The locals raise milk cows and daily move them from point A to point B. As the cows walk they do what cows do, and take a dump. I never smelled "death" along the Camino and that comment by her is absurd. I never saw any slaughterhouses on the Camino and the cattle I saw were of the milk production variety, not beef cattle or beef cattle farms.
A lot of stories of walking the Camino tend to be exaggerated, and at times outright BS.
ultreia
 
Tell that to @tyrrek who picked up some flesh wounds thanks to a Quail hunter while out litter-picking in the wilds of Palencia. The track through the Montes de Oca is a favourite stand for Boar hunters while the dogs work the forest. Happily they are all very Peregrino aware - and quite happy to share some coffee on a frosty morning.
Nice. I'd be trying to solicit an empty stand and a rifle for the next hunt. :)
 
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Shots? Screams?:D:D
I never saw any public hunting preserves along the Camino Frances. Where would those be on the route?
In the woods, before Hôpital Saint Blaise, in the Piedmont Way -you can actually see many wooden hunting stands. It is about pigeon and quail hunting, a very popular activity in French Pyrinees. The farmer that received us in Saint Just Ybarre had a lot of funny anecdotes about that. It is definitely a part of farmers culture.
Also, after Valcarlos, when you leave the paved road and start walking by the forest.
I remember in the Meseta some signs indicating the way to private hunting preserves -they could or could not be near the Camino.
I am not particularly worried by this. It is as when I walk alongside a paved road: I hope an expect that drivers go carefully -but anyway, I'd prefer to walk in a lonely, safer road.
 
"The smell of death and dung"? :D
Sounds like a deer camp I used to go to years ago in Texas. :D
All bad jokes aside, what the poor naive woman was probably talking about is the cow dung that you frequently encounter on the Way as you pass through the villages. The locals raise milk cows and daily move them from point A to point B. As the cows walk they do what cows do, and take a dump. I never smelled "death" along the Camino and that comment by her is absurd. I never saw any slaughterhouses on the Camino and the cattle I saw were of the milk production variety, not beef cattle or beef cattle farms.
A lot of stories of walking the Camino tend to be exaggerated, and at times outright BS.
ultreia


I suspect that there are many people who walk the Camino are people who are unfamiliar with farming practices and the odours among other things that go along with it. Not to mention the fact that there is no one following along behind said cows with a wheel barrow and a shovel to clean up the leavings (watch your step, everyone!)
 
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I walked by a slaughterhouse on the Cami de San Jaume in 2007-- I have a vague recollection of it being near Monzon and, yes, the sounds were disturbing. Still, I continue to eat meat (albeit in moderation). John Barlow's book "Everything but the Squeal: Eating the Whole Hog in Northern Spain" provides accounts of manzanas, where a pig is slaughtered at a farmhouse by professionals, and members of the family prepare the sausage, morcilla, etc. is worth a read for those interested in the folkways of Galicia. Pilgrims on the Primitivo and Invierno might encounter such events, but only rarely.
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
@Jules67 , I think you have mis-heard and mis-interpreted one brief comment in one Utube post that has, incidentally touched a few of us today. Nevertheless, though there are indeed slaughterhouses in towns and cities along the Camino routes no-one can recall the camino path actually passing an active slaughterhouse. Whether that provides you sufficient comfort or not will depend on you. Livestock farming, slaughterhouses, butchers' shops and meat based meals are all part of the socio-political and geographic landscape of the camino. If proximity is the trigger of your distress then you can relax, in all our recall and my googling of licensed slaughterhouses in Northern Spain I cannot find an instance where you might be adjacent to such an establishment. Nevertheless they are part of the fabric of Spain as they are of every other nation and you may therefore find yourself within one block or two, upwind or down of a Matadero.

I am minded of a young man at cena one night who pushed away his bowl of rabbit stew. His preacher reminded him - "All God's gifts are given...."
 
isn't that our beloved @Sagalouts participating in the conversation where the mention of the slaughterhouse comes in? RIP, amigo.
And further, the reference to "the smell of death and dung" came into a thoughtful conversation about life and death and the meaning of it all. The woman did not seem traumatized; rather the experience had given her something to think about. That was part of the value in her camino experience.

There is most definitely the smell of dung on the camino. And some noisy animals. I don't know about the smell of death, although undoubtedly animals are slaughtered in the region. All the signs "Coto de caza privado" tell you where there are private hunting reserves.

It would be a shame and completely misguided to walk the camino, watching for a slaughterhouse that has to be avoided! There could be one, but no one here has noticed it, and it definitely is not a prominent facility!
 
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"The smell of death and dung"? :D
Sounds like a deer camp I used to go to years ago in Texas. :D
All bad jokes aside, what the poor naive woman was probably talking about is the cow dung that you frequently encounter on the Way as you pass through the villages. The locals raise milk cows and daily move them from point A to point B. As the cows walk they do what cows do, and take a dump. I never smelled "death" along the Camino and that comment by her is absurd. I never saw any slaughterhouses on the Camino and the cattle I saw were of the milk production variety, not beef cattle or beef cattle farms.
A lot of stories of walking the Camino tend to be exaggerated, and at times outright BS.
ultreia
Sorry folks but I just love the smell of cow dung along the way, especially in Galecia!
And the women bringing in the cows.
It's like perfume to my nostrils!
Reminds me of my home long ago.
 
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Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

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Sorry folks but I just love the smell of cow dung along the way, especially in Galecia!
And the women bringing in the cows.
It's like perfume to my nostrils!
Reminds me of my home long ago.
Yes, that is so cool to watch and I love to see the working dogs with them. All business, and doing the things they were bred to do. That was always one of my favorite things to come across and a good time to stop walking for a few minutes and just take it all in.
 
Shots? Screams?:D:D

I never saw any public hunting preserves along the Camino Frances. Where would those be on the route? Also, to those not familiar with hunting, fear not if walking the Camino during the traditional fall hunting season. Nobody is roaming about randomly with a firearm shooting at whatever moves. That's pure BS. The hunting is done on private property, and they use dogs quite a bit to drive the deer or boars past standers who are posted up and stay there.

Not quite true. Last November/December we had to walk through hunts often. Public hunting takes place along a lot of the camino. For instance, after Castrojeriz up on the Alto there were hunters on both sides of the way, often even on the way shooting. We had to walk through them, but to be honest they were very careful around us. Another time was descending to Cee and we were surrounded by shotgun blasts with hunters and dogs crossing the way often (they offered to give us a lift into town as it was raining)! This happened so frequently it became normal.

In 2015 a whole pack of wild boar, with young, ran across the Way around and through us pilgrims, they were being chased by hunting dogs and hunters with guns. This was in July on the Primitivo.

Davey
 
Not quite true. Last November/December we had to walk through hunts often. Public hunting takes place along a lot of the camino. For instance, after Castrojeriz up on the Alto there were hunters on both sides of the way, often even on the way shooting. We had to walk through them, but to be honest they were very careful around us. Another time was descending to Cee and we were surrounded by shotgun blasts with hunters and dogs crossing the way often (they offered to give us a lift into town as it was raining)! This happened so frequently it became normal.

In 2015 a whole pack of wild boar, with young, ran across the Way around and through us pilgrims, they were being chased by hunting dogs and hunters with guns. This was in July.

Davey

Thanks!
Interesting to know. I thought hunting season was a bit the same in the whole of Western/ Southern Europe. Seems not so.

Found this link. http://www.cazahispanica.com/spain-hunting-season-spanish-hunting-species/
 
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I personally think the chance of running into this is low. It is farm & cattle country but most folks who raise livestock are very respectful & quick. There is no sound such as described. I was raised on a ranch, so I would stop & talk to the various farmers in the fields usually with a person that could translate. There was only 1 big production farm I Saw & that I am trying to remember. I did see some reminents of a slaughter there but you would not notice it unless you experienced butchering.

You have less chance of witnessing this as you do seeing a deer hit on the road. I witnessed that & to the credit of the young Spaniard who had he started harvesting the meat. So I helped him. My point is if you see 1 deer you will be blessed not many critters of that size. I think if your going worry about something concentrate on your feet & health to complete the journey.
Buen Camino
Keith
 
Sorry folks but I just love the smell of cow dung along the way, especially in Galecia!
And the women bringing in the cows.
It's like perfume to my nostrils!
Reminds me of my home long ago.

You would love it here in rural Galloway then as the roads are awash with a mixture of cow slurry and mud for most of the year.
 
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Please only answer if you have the answer to my question.. I didn't intend this to be a debate.
I apologise for those who are offended by some of these comments.
You have to bear in mind, some people don't like this and some people don't mind listening or even watching animals being killed. Please be respectful and mindful of those who don't..
I'm sorry I asked the question...
But thank you to those who answered without provoking debate
Never saw Julz
 
I suspect that there are many people who walk the Camino are people who are unfamiliar with farming practices and the odours among other things that go along with it. Not to mention the fact that there is no one following along behind said cows with a wheel barrow and a shovel to clean up the leavings (watch your step, everyone!)
I think this is a good explanation for what was a casual remark made by the interviewer. In the first instance, I have my doubts that any abattoir will smell of death, because no-one wants a carcass to start putrifying. I visited abattoirs regularly in my youth and occasionally since, and they certainly smelt of dung, perhaps of blood, but never of decay. I have smelt decay in dead animals that have been left to rot, and in mass burial sites following natural disasters like bushfires here in Australia. But none of the abattoirs I ever visited had that smell.

On the CF, there are cattle barns and piggeries along the way. I find the smells quite distinct, and readily distinguishable, but I know my wife cannot tell them apart. I don't recall passing an abattoir, but I admit that I wasn't looking out for one either.
 
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No, I've never passed an abattoir on the Camino Francés. What she heard was likely a piggery. If there is an abattoir at Pontferrada it is off the route.
 
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A nice story I promise.

I was at the albergue municipal at A Mesa on the Primitivo late one evening (around 9.30pm it was dark). We actually thought that cattle were being slaughtered in a barn nearby, the sounds were horrendous. It turned out it was one cow in particular that sounded in pain and distress and we pilgrims all felt pretty bad, it was so loud and went on for so long. But then we noticed a lot of the locals hanging around there, they seemed to be waiting, and they looked concerned. Our hospitalera informed us that a cow was having a troubled labor, and everyone was waiting and hoping she and the calf were going to be ok. Losing a cow and/or calf in a tiny place like A Mesa would be a big blow to the owners. Pilgrim curfew was cancelled that night, all of us pilgrims stayed up until around 2am waiting for the news. Suddenly a cheer comes up from the barn, mum and calf were ok, big smiles on everyone's faces and a celebration was in order!

The thing that struck me the most was the affection and care that these people had for 'their' cow!

Davey
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
I distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs. The sound is enough to make you cry, which I did. I walked and cried right along with the screaming pigs.
The smell is bad too.
But I eat meat.
And I was one of those Americans you mention that try to tell myself it comes in the little plastic package and there was painless death involved. After a long and joyful life of eating chrysanthemums dipped in honey and sleeping peacefully each night in a giant doggie bed in a warm barn full of animals that talked to each other and a spider that wrote "Some Pig" in silk above his head, the large hog was distracted by chocolate and died with one shot to the temple and a smile on his snout.
So the Camino can be a slap in the Truth Bone, not very gently, to those of us who obscure reality for the sake of sleeping better at night.
 
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Sorry folks but I just love the smell of cow dung along the way, especially in Galecia!
And the women bringing in the cows.
It's like perfume to my nostrils!
Reminds me of my home long ago.

My parents ran small hotels with bars during my formative years.
To this day the aromas of stale beer and cigarette smoke make me give me twinges of homesickness.
 
My parents ran small hotels with bars during my formative years.
To this day the aromas of stale beer and cigarette smoke make me give me twinges of homesickness.
Me too! But it's just because Mama like Narragansett Beer and Pall Malls. Sigh. Those were the days.
 
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Did not encounter any of that. Walk down info Molinaseca I heard hunters I the mountains. .and it reminded me so much of my childhood in the Austrian alps...I like lingered and remembered.
 
I distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs. The sound is enough to make you cry, which I did. I walked and cried right along with the screaming pigs.
The smell is bad too.
But I eat meat.
And I was one of those Americans you mention that try to tell myself it comes in the little plastic package and there was painless death involved. After a long and joyful life of eating chrysanthemums dipped in honey and sleeping peacefully each night in a giant doggie bed in a warm barn full of animals that talked to each other and a spider that wrote "Some Pig" in silk above his head, the large hog was distracted by chocolate and died with one shot to the temple and a smile on his snout.
So the Camino can be a slap in the Truth Bone, not very gently, to those of us who obscure reality for the sake of sleeping better at night. .

Excellently put Coleen, but it is not just Americans I assure you, it is the same here in the UK. Probably a 'civilized' western world thing. When my sister was 15 she did not know that roast lamb was a baby sheep, and my mum slapped me for telling her!
 
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I distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs. The sound is enough to make you cry, which I did. I walked and cried right along with the screaming pigs.
The smell is bad too.
But I eat meat.
And I was one of those Americans you mention that try to tell myself it comes in the little plastic package and there was painless death involved. After a long and joyful life of eating chrysanthemums dipped in honey and sleeping peacefully each night in a giant doggie bed in a warm barn full of animals that talked to each other and a spider that wrote "Some Pig" in silk above his head, the large hog was distracted by chocolate and died with one shot to the temple and a smile on his snout.
So the Camino can be a slap in the Truth Bone, not very gently, to those of us who obscure reality for the sake of sleeping better at night. We need that.
For those out there who think it's bad, hate me now if you don't already, but I've been on hand for the putting down of a hog for butchering and have even done in a few hogs myself, and there was no "screaming" (same with the cow I saw put down for butchering). Hog is alive and a second later he ain't. That's it. Now they do make a lot of noise just in their daily life as being a hog. The typical hog vocalization.
 
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Excellently put Coleen, but it is not just Americans I assure you, it is the same here in the UK. Probably a 'civilized' western world thing. When my sister was 15 she did not know that roast lamb was a baby sheep, and my mum slapped me for telling her!
And you told her about Santa and the Easter Bunny too, didn't you? Mean big bro. Funny but Mean.
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?

Hi Jules, sorry we have hijacked your thread somewhat, but it has been a fascinating discussion.

So, to help Jules, if there is a slaughterhouse before Ponferrada is there a way where she does not have to walk past it? Yes, I know it is real life and all that, and I'm sure Jules realises where meat comes from etc, but if it would make her feel more comfortable I'm sure we could suggest something?
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
And the problem is? Unless you live on grass, you'll need food. Don't bite the hand that feeds you...
 
I think Shirley Maclaine neglected to list the various slaughter houses on the camino. How could she.... Oh! But, I did see a truck full of piglets going down the C.F. I felt for the cuties. Pigs Spain ... turkeys on Thanksgiving in good ole USofA.
 
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The irony of this discussion is, that the pilgrims of medieval times, you know, that original whacky bunch of tunic clad, gourd brandishing hipsters that got us all walking this thing now, would have been immeasurably grateful of any meat protein (or eggs, milk) they could have secured and eaten while walking the Camino. I'm sure it was slim picking food wise on the Camino then. So if there was livestock available for consumption and needed to be slaughtered, the only thing traumatic would be if you didn't get a morsel for yourself. "Hey man, stop bogarting that goat shank!" ha ha :D
 
Honestly though (...), I hope we can avoid these cruel slaughtering houses. I don't see the need for them; they simply kill innocent animals just for food. We don't need them at all, since all shops sell meat in sanitary sterile packings. That way we don't need to kill real animals. Peace & love.
 
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Do you know that I think we should help the OP. If she is uncomfortable lets help.

Do you know, that I have never owned a TV in my life (I'm 50). I hate it. I hate it so much I will not enter a building, a friends or relatives house where they have it on. So on Camino I am the one sat outside in the rain with my coffee or beer. Have you tried to dodge TV in bars in Spain?! Near enough impossible.

Now you can give me all the lectures you like, but it makes me uncomfortable. Its my choice to sit outside too. I amuse my fellow pilgrims!

Also, I can't say I disagree with any of you, but we are all different. Yes the morals of modern meat eating and food production are an interesting discussion. But we are not really helping a fellow pilgrim out here are we?

And if anyone sees the tooth fairy, let her know she owes me a few quid.

Davey
 
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Honestly though (...), I hope we can avoid these cruel slaughtering houses. I don't see the need for them; they simply kill innocent animals just for food. We don't need them at all, since all shops sell meat in sanitary sterile packings. That way we don't need to kill real animals. Peace & love.

I just ate Salami out of a very pretty plastic package. Hope no real animals were harmed in its production. Think Soylent Green!

Do you know that I think we should help the OP. If she is uncomfortable lets help.

Do you know, that I have never owned a TV in my life (I'm 50). I hate it. I hate it so much I will not enter a building, a friends or relatives house where they have it on. So on Camino I am the one sat outside in the rain with my coffee or beer. Have you tried to dodge TV in bars in Spain?! Near enough impossible.

Now you can give me all the lectures you like, but it makes me uncomfortable. Its my choice to sit outside too. I amuse my fellow pilgrims!

Also, I can't say I disagree with any of you, but we are all different. Yes the morals of modern meat eating and food production are an interesting discussion. But we are not really helping a fellow pilgrim out here are we?

And if anyone sees the tooth fairy, let her know she owes me a few quid.
Davey

We are paid for lost teeth in our youth. We pay for teeth to be lost in our dotage. When you see T. Fairy, run that scenario by them.
 
"When we lose teeth in our youth we are paid. When we lose teeth in later years we have to pay for their removal".

Nope, mine just fell out. That tooth fairy owes me big time. nycwalking
 
I just ate Salami out of a very pretty plastic package. Hope no real animals were harmed in its production. Think Soylent Green!
Get real! Salami is a sousage; not an animal! As is choriso! Take a look at it: Is it an animal? No. Animals have four legs; chorisao/salami none! There are so many misconceptions at this: Jamon, f.ex. It is a slice of food, not an animal.

But be very careful with plastic: It is soo dangerous to our environment. Stay with meat instead:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/03/whale-found-dying-coast-norway-30-plastic-bags-stomach/
 
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So now we know who eats meat, & for the fun of it why don't we figure out where the pears come from or what beer is the best on tap. But let's start new threads. You have me missing blood sausage as well. So much to like about Spain:)
 
You have me missing blood sausage as well. So much to like about Spain:)
Time your walk along the Frances well then - Leon has a morcilla festival in the autumn :) I had the good luck to catch the last day of it and have red peppers stuffed with morcilla as the starter in a menu del dia that was the best meal of my Camino Frances last year and no more expensive than the dire menu peregrino in so many places along the way:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/great-places-to-eat-on-the-cf.43863/#post-453876
 
Please only answer if you have the answer to my question.. I didn't intend this to be a debate.
I apologise for those who are offended by some of these comments.
You have to bear in mind, some people don't like this and some people don't mind listening or even watching animals being killed. Please be respectful and mindful of those who don't..
I'm sorry I asked the question...
But thank you to those who answered without provoking debate

Like many others here I couldn't remember any such place - but I think I've now found it. After extensive exploration with Google Street View (cos I've clearly got too much time on my hands! )... There is one on the main road out of Molinaseca (on the way to Ponferrada). It is a sausage (and other things) factory called Embutidos Frimols, and they must do their own slaughtering because there is a sign across the road pointing to it, which says "Matadero frigorifico" (refrigerated slaughterhouse).

I think the reason I didn't notice it at the time was that we walked straight along the road, rather than taking the short parallel pathway which runs behind the tennis courts etc - and therefore behind the factory, and probably closer to the "action" (sorry!) So I would say if you are likely to be upset by such sights and sounds, just stay on the main road - the pathway joins it again soon after I think anyway.

Buen Camino!
 
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So now we know who eats meat, & for the fun of it why don't we figure out where the pears come from or what beer is the best on tap. But let's start new threads. You have me missing blood sausage as well. So much to like about Spain:)
When I was on the Camino in 2015 I stayed at the albergue in Ages. It just so happened that night they were having a street party of sorts in that small town. I think it was a collective birthday party for a few people. They invited all the pilgrims staying in the albergue(s) to join in. The albergues were not that full (and this was in July, so fear not fellow pilgrims, sometimes there is too much room at the inn's). There was wine, bread and they set up the grills and cooked up a couple of kinds of chorizo, including the blood chorizo as well as grilled hog snouts and ears. Delicious. It was so nice and the locals were so hospitable. One of my favorite towns on the CF and one of my favorite memories.
 
When I was on the Camino in 2015 I stayed at the albergue in Ages. It just so happened that night they were having a street party of sorts in that small town. I think it was a collective birthday party for a few people. They invited all the pilgrims staying in the albergue(s) to join in. The albergues were not that full (and this was in July, so fear not fellow pilgrims, sometimes there is too much room at the inn's). There was wine, bread and they set up the grills and cooked up a couple of kinds of chorizo, including the blood chorizo as well as grilled hog snouts and ears. Delicious. It was so nice and the locals were so hospitable. One of my favorite towns on the CF and one of my favorite memories.

Yes Ages is one of the nicest villages on the Way, but most pilgrims just pass through it. Sounds like a good night!
 
This evening, after dredging thru all kinds of depressing news about intractable world problems, I came here to get some sort of positive lift before heading to bed. I don't have any particular attitude for or against slaughter houses but this post was exactly what my mind needed (Well, maybe not the Burger King ad).
Thank you Peregrinos and Thank You Jules for initiating this discussion. Hopefully you, as I, gained much more than the existence of slaughter houses on the Camino.
Buenas Noches
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc...
Lets be clear that having watched the video link that you posted I could find no reference to an abattoir nor to there being screams and shots. However, if you are worried that about these specific things, I understand EU law has similar, if not greater, protections for animals to those in most first world nations. Amongst other things, the EU requires animals to be effectively stunned before slaughter. Under such circumstances, only a very few animals will squeal, bleat or moo, but clearly there is no guarantee of perfection in any practical system, and a small number might. And it seems to me that it would be very unusual for an animal to be stunned by a gunshot, although I understand that this might also happen for large animals as well when the regular stunning technique doesn't work effectively.

Clearly none of us can guarantee you won't witness inhumane animal treatment on your camino, but I don't think it is the issue you seem to think it might be.
 
Again I can say that I never saw any slaughter houses on my Camino, what I did see were both pig and cattle fattening stations in the distance along the way. The pig stations are unmissable due to the smell and indeed the noise of pigs making a racket, as they do, but I never heard sounds that would make me think abattoir/slaughterhouse.
 
Just a heads up on nauseating smells on the Frances - There is a Kraft Foods factory (Philadelphia cheese plant) just before Hospital d'Orbigo that has its own effluent treatment plant. When I took an alternative route past this food processing plant in 2016 the treatment plant must have been experiencing problems because the stink was vomit inducing (and I've visited everything from landfill sites, cattle BSE open burning, pet crematoria, chicken and pig farms in a professional capacity). To avoid it ignore the second/alternative arrows pointing due west after crossing over th AP21 road and continue on main route north, then west into Hospital d'Orbigo. I've also visited abbattoirs and can confirm that they don't smell bad as food standards are at stake ( in my part if the world anyway ).

https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...m2!3m1!1s0xd377cb7780eb07f:0x664faa852708e90e
 
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.... never walked past a slaughterhouse? They are modern inventions, late 1700s, early 1800s and 1900s, I think. I don't know about the US or the UK but, strangely enough, in a number of European cities - including Madrid - such inner city municipial buildings are converted into huge cultural centres these days.

Kathar1na is right on re the European trend for re-purposing abattoirs! For example in Lyon, France, at La Halle originally designed by Tony Garnier and ,of course, La Villette here in Paris.
 
True. It is the case with Les abattoirs of Toulouse (just a short walk from the Camino). It is dedicated to modern art, and (speaking about decaying) it has currently an expo about dadaism, with a good lot of decorated human skulls as masterpiece.
 
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I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.

Ultreïa!!

Thank you for this perspective (since you are likely to catch some grief for stating an opposite opinion to some).
 
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So now we know who eats meat, & for the fun of it why don't we figure out where the pears come from or what beer is the best on tap. But let's start new threads. You have me missing blood sausage as well. So much to like about Spain:)
we can also ponder the origins of the seedless grape.
 
I agree, Sabine. Many people in the USA have come to believe that meat comes in nice plastic wrapped packages.
The Camino, in many different ways, is a peek into the reality of farm life.
Annie, maybe in Portland, but please don't put us all in the same boat of denial , where I live there are 3 private owned "slaughter houses" that process wild game , and home raised livestock of all kinds, plus I know several, myself included, that process our own game and farm raised pork, goats and lamb,
 
.... never walked past a slaughterhouse? They are modern inventions, late 1700s, early 1800s and 1900s, I think. I don't know about the US or the UK but, strangely enough, in a number of European cities - including Madrid - such inner city municipial buildings are converted into huge cultural centres these days.
I didn't say they never walked past a slaughterhouse, and I know that it is a more modern facility that comes with larger cities and not small villages and towns. I was saying that I doubt they would have been offended if they had and the slaughter of livestock was part of everyday rural life (then and now). I know that not all livestock for consumption is processed at a slaughterhouse. It could be a barn. A tree. Anything. In south Texas and south Louisiana in the fall it's still traditional to slaughter a hog and process it at home. It's a social event, and everyone get's involved. When I worked in Afghanistan our Nepalese security guys frequently bought goats to slaughter and cook up on Fridays. It was a group effort. Sometimes we bought the goats (and the whiskey ;) ).
 
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I didn't say they never walked past a slaughterhouse, and I know that it is a more modern facility that comes with larger cities and not small villages and towns. I was saying that I doubt they would have been offended if they had and the slaughter of livestock was part of everyday rural life (then and now). I know that not all livestock for consumption is processed at a slaughterhouse. It could be a barn. A tree. Anything. In south Texas and south Louisiana in the fall it's still traditional to slaughter a hog and process it at home. It's a social event, and everyone get's involved. When I worked in Afghanistan our Nepalese security guys frequently bought goats to slaughter and cook up on Fridays. It was a group effort. Sometimes we bought the goats (and the whiskey ;) ).


Slaughter houses, as we know them, are a product of the industrial revolution. Prior to that time your local butcher took care of their own slaughtering and meat cutting. Unless, of course, you lived on a farm, then the situation is as above: A family event: The animal was slaughtered (usually in the fall, when the weather was cooler) the meat was cut, Fat reserved for soap making, Ham and bacon cured and sent to the smoke house, Sausages made, and everything used except the squeal.
 
Sometimes google searches pay off and some times they don't. https://www.paginasamarillas.es/a/mataderos/leon/ponferrada/

The only active, licensed Matadero anywhere near the camino at Ponferrada is actually in Molinaseca, at Traversia Manuel Fraga 5. This is some 250 metres North of the camino route on a continuation of the LE-142 after pilgrims turn left onto the Puente de Molinaseca.

I hope this provides some comfort to @Jules67 who is unlikely to come within sight, sound or smell of the premises.
 
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Sometimes google searches pay off and some times they don't. https://www.paginasamarillas.es/a/mataderos/leon/ponferrada/

The only active, licensed Matadero anywhere near the camino at Ponferrada is actually in Molinaseca, at Traversia Manuel Fraga 5. This is some 250 metres North of the camino route on a continuation of the LE-142 after pilgrims turn left onto the Puente de Molinaseca.

I hope this provides some comfort to @Jules67 who is unlikely to come within sight, sound or smell of the premises.
Dang you good. Nice investigative work.
but how does that explain the smell of "death and dung"? The "screams" of the doomed? :rolleyes:
ha ha
 
Dang you good. Nice investigative work.
but how does that explain the smell of "death and dung"? The "screams" of the doomed? :rolleyes:
ha ha

Other than the "dung" I think there may be a little "poetic license" involved here.
 
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Sometimes google searches pay off and some times they don't. https://www.paginasamarillas.es/a/mataderos/leon/ponferrada/

The only active, licensed Matadero anywhere near the camino at Ponferrada is actually in Molinaseca, at Traversia Manuel Fraga 5. This is some 250 metres North of the camino route on a continuation of the LE-142 after pilgrims turn left onto the Puente de Molinaseca.

I hope this provides some comfort to @Jules67 who is unlikely to come within sight, sound or smell of the premises.

Yes that's the one I found, see my post above. It's actually located a little further along the road on the way out of Molinaseca. The direct route along the road just passes the front of the factory, but the alternative off road path behind the buildings would probably come closer to any activities. Although as others have said, the descriptions of screams and shots sound like poetic license!
 
This thread is classic.
I should point out that pigs squeal to high heaven when they are about to get fed. And piglets make the most terrifying screaming when you even pick them up. Here are a couple of clips of 'normal' pig squealing, as a reference for those who haven't hung out with our curly tailed friends. Brace yourself....
You might think the pigs in the last clip are starving or something, but I looked after pampered porkers on a city farm and they made the exact same racket.
 
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Yes that's the one I found, see my post above. It's actually located a little further along the road on the way out of Molinaseca. The direct route along the road just passes the front of the factory, but the alternative off road path behind the buildings would probably come closer to any activities. Although as others have said, the descriptions of screams and shots sound like poetic license!
I'm puzzled by the suggestion that these premises are on the actual Camino route; though it is 5 years since I last walked through Molinaseca. At that time the route followed the Puente de Molinaseca and Calle Real (clue in the name) thereby avoiding the trucks on the LE-142 and passing instead several pleasant bars and comedors and also avoiding Snrs Frimols.
 
Lets be clear that having watched the video link that you posted I could find no reference to an abattoir nor to there being screams and shots. However, if you are worried that about these specific things, I understand EU law has similar, if not greater, protections for animals to those in most first world nations. Amongst other things, the EU requires animals to be effectively stunned before slaughter. Under such circumstances, only a very few animals will squeal, bleat or moo, but clearly there is no guarantee of perfection in any practical system, and a small number might. And it seems to me that it would be very unusual for an animal to be stunned by a gunshot, although I understand that this might also happen for large animals as well when the regular stunning technique doesn't work effectively.

Clearly none of us can guarantee you won't witness inhumane animal treatment on your camino, but I don't think it is the issue you seem to think it might be.
Thanks Doug. My thoughts were the same re EU laws and I'm thinking it's probably blown out of all proportion. Don't get me wrong, I am a meat eater, lived next to a farm and suffered the smells on a daily basis.! I just didn't want to suddenly stumble such a work place if I could hear what was going on in there. Appreciate your feedback.
 
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I'm puzzled by the suggestion that these premises are on the actual Camino route; though it is 5 years since I last walked through Molinaseca. At that time the route followed the Puente de Molinaseca and Calle Real (clue in the name) thereby avoiding the trucks on the LE-142 and passing instead several pleasant bars and comedors and also avoiding Snrs Frimols.

@Tincatinker I may have created confusion there. The route goes through the centre of Molinaseca it's true, past the various bars etc. Then you come out at the end and walk straight ahead along the LE-142 for a bit. There is then a path which (unless you miss it as we did) takes you off the road somewhere near the muni albergue and runs more or less parallel to the road, behind the tennis courts and other properties including the Frimols factory, before rejoining the road further along briefly. It is this factory which is signposted from across the road as a matadero. It's true they are on Travesia Manuel Fraga but not no. 5. - there are only houses and gardens at that end, so the Paginas Amarillas entry is not correct. I neither heard not saw anything when passing the front of Frimols on the road, but those who heard animals may have been walking on the path that runs behind.
 
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