CCTV in slaughterhouses
Virtually every inch of the country is now covered by CCTV. Yet where cameras are most needed, they’re notable in their absence. There are hundreds of slaughterhouses in England, yet only a minority of them have CCTV installed and there is no legal requirement for them to do so. In a 2011 report The Food Standards Agency (PDF) (FSA) supported the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses as ‘a useful monitoring tool'.
Undercover investigations have exposed inhumane practices and barbaric treatment of animals in slaughterhouses. In response, the majority of supermarkets now demand that the abattoirs from which they source own brand products be fitted with CCTV monitoring.
The RSPCA and many other animal welfare organisations are calling on the Government to introduce legislation to make CCTV compulsory in all slaughterhouses.
What can I do to help?
The Westminster Government is due to update legislation concerning the slaughter of animals. There are 900 million animals killed in food production in the UK every year. The Government has a responsibility to take all to safeguard the welfare of those animals.
Email the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food, David Heath MP using the form below.
Update:
Horse abattoir investigation
Thursday, 7 February 2013
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed it is investigating the Red Lion Abattoir near Nantwich, Cheshire, after serious concerns were raised about the way horses were treated there.
Shocking footage shows horses in the stunning pen at the same time rather than individually as the law requires. We also have concerns about some of the animals which appear to be injured.
We welcome the FSA’s investigation and have offered to help in any way we can.
