Lords scrutiny committee welcomes legislation that allows new humane method of animal slaughter
Monday 31 January 2022
The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has published a report which draws the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 to the special attention of the House on the grounds that it is politically or legally important and gives rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest.
The instrument introduces an additional humane method for killing piglets, lambs and kids up to a certain weight, using a non-penetrative bold device which is currently only allowed for stunning animals or killing in emergency situations. The change in the law draws on scientific evidence and recommendations and will allow for the animals to be killed using the new method on farms and in slaughterhouses. The change is being made in response to supply chain shortages in the pig sector and a shortage of butchering staff which has resulted in a backlog of pigs on farms.
In the Explanatory Memorandum (EM) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirms that it consulted the pig, sheep and goat industries and several other relevant stakeholders including veterinary groups, academics, slaughter equipment manufacturers and animal welfare NGOs.
Defra has addressed a number of concerns raised by the Committee including:
- The length of the consultation period. Defra said it was a short one-week consultation because of the urgent need to address the butcher shortage and backlog issues.
- Lack of evidence of the failure rate, and therefore of the effectiveness, of the new method of humane slaughter. Defra explained that although they did not have reliable evidence on the possible failure rate of the non-penetrative bolt device to be used in commercial settings, adequate research had been conducted to ensure the device was an effective killing method for piglets, lambs and kids within the parameters specified in the Regulations.
The Committee noted the importance of proper training and appropriate guidance in the handling of these devices to ensure that there is minimum stress caused to the animals and asked the Department to consider recording the use of the device to gather some evidence of its effectiveness.
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, Chair of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said;
“There continues to be significant public and parliamentary interest in issues around animal welfare at slaughter and in the overstocking and culling of pigs on farms, so these changes are welcomed. Defra is introducing the new humane killing method in response to long-standing calls for a change in the law. This should help to address the issues around overstocking of pigs on farms.
“We have asked the Department to consider monitoring the use of the newly introduced non-penetrative bolt device so as to generate reliable evidence as to its effectiveness in commercial settings in non-emergency situations. We also believe that while welcoming on farm slaughter as a means of avoiding what are often long and stressful journeys, any killing done should be conducted as humanely as possible and in a manner that minimises stress to other animals on the farm.”
