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.
, 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.”
Notes to Editors
- The Protection of Animals at the
Time of Killing (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI
202/33) and supporting information are available on
gov.uk. The Regulations
were laid on 13 January 2022 and will take effect on 3
February. The House has until 3 March to raise any issues with
the changes.
