Animal Aid

A YouGov poll has found that, of those who expressed a view, 73 per cent said the Government should make CCTV mandatory for all slaughterhouses in the UK.

The poll, which was conducted across Great Britain from 15-19 November, asked 3,445 people:

‘Most supermarkets insist that their slaughterhouse suppliers install CCTV, but this does not cover all abattoirs. Some people think that CCTV should be compulsory in ALL slaughterhouses, to help prevent potentially widespread illegal animal cruelty, such as the kicking, beating and punching of animals. Other people don’t think it should be made compulsory, due to the cost to slaughterhouses of installing CCTV and because some law abiding slaughterhouse owners and workers may object to being filmed at work. Do you think the government should or should not make it compulsory for CCTV to be installed in ALL slaughterhouses in the UK?’

60 per cent of the total (and 73 per cent of those who expressed a view) answered: The government should make it compulsory.
22 per cent answered: The government should not make it compulsory.
18 per cent answered: Don’t Know.

The statistics for those who expressed a view in Scotland indicate that 71 per cent support mandatory CCTV. In Wales, the figure is an overwhelming 78 per cent.

Animal Aid has been campaigning for mandatory CCTV since the national group filmed inside nine randomly chosen slaughterhouses and found breaches of animal welfare laws in eight of them. The cruelties included animals being kicked, beaten, punched and burnt with cigarettes. Animal Aid’s footage led to two men being jailed.

Says Animal Aid’s Head of Campaigns, Kate Fowler:

‘Our investigations have found that breaches of the law inside slaughterhouses are all too common when workers do not think they are being watched. CCTV will deter some of the worst cruelties, help with training and retraining of staff and provide evidence for prosecutions.

‘Despite this practical and achievable option, the government’s recent consultation on welfare at slaughter suggested that slaughterhouse owners “are best placed to decide which monitoring tools are most appropriate for their individual circumstances”. We believe this is a dereliction of the government’s duty and it must now pay heed to the public which rightly feels that regulations must be tightened, not weakened, in order to better protect animals.’

Notes to Editors

• See information about, and footage from, Animal Aid’s slaughterhouse investigations
• The full poll results can be seen here: Results. Read more about the method
• Read Animal Aid’s response to Defra’s consultation
• For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Fowler on 01732 364546.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 3445 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15th-19th November 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).