Asked by Lord Trees To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
measures they are taking to minimise the number of animals
slaughtered without stunning in abattoirs in the United Kingdom.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)
(Con) My Lords, EU and domestic legislation...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are
taking to minimise the number of animals slaughtered
without stunning in abattoirs in the United Kingdom.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of
Kimble) (Con)
My Lords, EU and domestic legislation require all animals
to be stunned before slaughter, with a long-standing
exception for Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat
prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. We
recently asked the Food Standards Agency to conduct a
survey of slaughterhouses that included looking at
different slaughter methods. The survey’s results should
help to ascertain the volumes of meat arising from
different slaughter methods.
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(CB)
I thank the Minister for his reply and congratulate the
Government on the number of measures they have announced
recently to improve animal welfare in this country. They
are progressive and very welcome. However, on non-stunned
slaughter, I am afraid we have not made much progress. The
latest Food Standards Agency figures to which the noble
Lord alluded show that the number of sheep slaughtered
without stunning in Britain in 2017 doubled in the six
years from 2011 to over 3 million sheep. That is 3 million
sheep that had their throats cut without being rendered
unconscious first. Does the Minister agree that, in that
aspect of animal welfare, we are going backwards?
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My Lords, that is why it is important that we first look at
the results of the 2018 survey. The last full survey was in
2013, so it is important that we hear about the issue
again. The Government would prefer all animals to be
stunned before slaughter, but we have been very clear over
a long period—since the 1933 Act—that we respect the rights
of the Jewish and Muslim communities to consume meat in
accordance with their religious practices. However, we
expect our announcement on CCTV, affecting all
slaughterhouses, to be an advance in animal welfare.
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(Lab)
Does the Minister realise that there is a partial solution
to this, particularly in respect of the Muslim community?
All New Zealand lamb that arrives in this country is halal
and all the animals were stunned prior to slaughter. If it
is good enough to have a standard in New Zealand that
classifies as halal, why do we put up with a local
decision, which is not an international rule? There is a
perfectly good arrangement from the other side of the
world, which has led so much in food safety and farming
practices. Why can we not adopt the New Zealand practices
in respect of the Muslim community?
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My Lords, my understanding is that there are different
requirements in different parts of the Muslim community.
The noble Lord, with all his experience, is absolutely
right, but certain parts of the Muslim community are
prepared to have stunned halal meat and other parts are
not. I return to the fact that we have this long-standing
reasoning behind permitting the communities to eat meat in
that way. We certainly want to enhance animal welfare, and
that is why the official veterinarians must be in every
part of the slaughterhouse.
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(Con)
My Lords, may I support the position adopted by my noble
friend? It is very important to carry the Muslim and Jewish
communities with us and I hope they will be tightly
involved in any consultations that may take place.
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My Lords, as I say, we do not intend to move away from this
long-standing right, but we want, with the other measures
that we are considering, to ensure that all slaughtermen
hold a certificate of competence, which is clearly
essential, and that the official veterinarians can see from
the video footage that everything done in all
slaughterhouses is carried out in a proper manner. We
certainly want to advance animal welfare in all
slaughterhouses.
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(LD)
My Lords, the growth figures that the noble Lord, , talked about are in
excess of what is needed to meet religious needs for the
slaughtering of animals without stunning. We have been
leaders in the European Union on animal welfare, so have
the Government looked at the German system of quotas as a
way of bringing the numbers down, and if not, why not?
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My Lords, we should get the figures in March and we will
want to look at the survey, which will be put in the public
domain at some point this year. It is also important to say
that we want to see what proportion of this meat is going
for export. We want to look at where the livestock is
sourced and the market distribution, including exports.
Once we know that, we will be in a position to give this
issue the consideration it deserves.
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(Lab)
My Lords, is it not the case, as the noble Lord, , accurately pointed
out, that the number of animals, in this case sheep, being
killed without stunning is rising dramatically? I am sure
that is not mirrored by a rise in the population who demand
halal meat. What is the Minister’s explanation for the
number of animals having risen so sharply in the UK?
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The noble Lord has raised a number of points. I understand
that people in the Muslim community eat more sheepmeat than
the rest of the British population and that the number of
Muslims who are looking to have non-stunned halal meat has
also increased because of enhanced religious observance. As I
say, with this survey we want to look at the reasons behind
this. Obviously, our intention is to allow an exemption for
religious communities, but not that this meat should go into
the wider market.
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(CB)
My Lords, is the Minister aware of the horrifically cruel
treatment of sheep in a slaughterhouse near Thirsk? The
animals were not stunned, rather they were kicked and
mutilated; what they went through is really horrifying. The
men involved will be tried in court in Leeds very soon. Can
the Minister say when CCTV will be operational in all
slaughterhouses?
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My Lords, we intend to lay legislation on this matter very
shortly. I wish I could give the noble Baroness and the House
a precise date, but we want to bring it forward as soon as
possible. CCTV will be installed in all areas where live
animals are present. We want animals to have a good life and
a respectful end to their lives. I think this will advance
that.
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(Con)
My Lords, of course we must wholeheartedly and unreservedly
respect freedom of religious belief, but there are among us
those who would prefer not to eat meat that has been
slaughtered using a mechanism that we believe causes
unnecessary suffering. Will the Government now grasp this
nettle and arrange for a labelling mechanism so that those of
us who do not believe in following this practice have the
freedom of our own belief?
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My Lords, the labelling issue is very important. We think it
is absolutely essential that everyone can make an informed
choice. We will be considering this issue in the context of
our departure from the EU. I also say to my noble friend that
farm assurance schemes, such as Red Tractor and the RSPCA
Assured scheme, require stunned slaughter. That is an
important feature.
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(Lab)
My Lords, we all welcome the introduction of compulsory CCTV
in slaughterhouses, which should assist with proper welfare
standards. The noble Lord will know, however, that the recent
incident at 2 Sisters came to light not because of the CCTV
but because of undercover reporters. Unless the Food
Standards Agency has the proper resources to look at the
footage, we will get no further forward. Will the Minister
explain what extra resources will be put in place so that the
CCTV footage is used and not just sitting there in a dead
camera?
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My Lords, it is very important that the official veterinarian
takes his or her duties extremely seriously. That is why the
footage will need to be stored by the slaughterhouse
operators for 90 days. The official veterinarians will have
access to the CCTV systems and their recorded images. It is
important that CCTV recording may be used as evidence. On
resources, the official veterinarians, who are essential to
this, have their duties. There have to be official
veterinarians in slaughterhouses. As I said, this will be an
important part of the work of enhancing animal welfare at the
end of animals’ lives.
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