Posted on the 13th November 2017
The government has confirmed that it intends to go ahead with plans to make CCTV mandatory for all slaughterhouses in England. Defra has announced that it will be introducing legislation in the New Year, and it is expected to come into force in the Spring. Slaughterhouses will be given up to six months to comply with the new law. Slaughterhouse vets will have unrestricted access to the footage.
The announcement from Defra follows a period of consultation on the plans. More than 99 per cent of almost 4,000 respondents to the consultation were in favour of mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses.
This vital progress follows almost a decade of campaigning by Animal Aid. This has included groundbreaking undercover investigations, and intense political lobbying. In May, we released a damning report showing that 93 per cent of slaughterhouses investigated by Animal Aid and Hillside Animal Sanctuary were breaking animal welfare laws. The illegal abuse we have witnessed includes animals being kicked, punched, beaten and burnt with cigarettes.
Animal Aid believes that a proper system of independent monitoring should be urgently introduced. Last year, a report that was commissioned by Animal Aid and led by Professor Ian Rotherham of Sheffield Hallam University, found that a monitoring system of this kind would be ‘cost-effective and feasible’.
Says Isobel Hutchinson, Director of Animal Aid:
‘It is certainly positive that this crucial measure is finally going to be put into place. Whilst it is good news that slaughterhouse vets will have unrestricted access to the footage, a proper system of independent monitoring is urgently needed. We believe that the footage should be routinely spot-checked by independent experts, which would help to prevent the kind of sickening abuse that we have repeatedly filmed.
‘It is also vital to remember that there is no such thing as cruelty-free slaughter. Even when no laws are broken, slaughter is a stressful, brutal and violent process. No animal wants to die, and there is simply no need to rear and kill animals for food. Since we can be happy and healthy on a completely animal-free diet, we urge anyone who cares about animals to go vegan.’
Notes
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