LAUSR

THE BVA and Veterinary Public Health Association (VPHA) have expressed disappointment that a recent report commissioned by the Welsh Government has recommended that CCTV should not be mandatory in slaughterhouses in Wales. The report was prepared by the industry-led Safeguarding Animal Welfare at Slaughter Task and Finish Group. The group studied the number and type of welfare incidents recorded in abattoirs in Wales in 2015 alongside the throughput of animals in Welsh slaughterhouses. It also took account of an opinion from the Farm Animal Welfare Committee on the use of CCTV in animals, which concluded that CCTV was a useful tool but did not necessarily lead to better welfare outcomes. In its report, which was published by the Welsh Government on December 16, the task and finish group notes that there are a number of controls already in place in Welsh abattoirs to protect animal welfare. It concludes that, based on the number and type of welfare incidents recorded in 2015, looking particularly at the split of incidents between abattoirs that already used CCTV and those that did not, and based on the conclusion of the FAWC, ‘there is simply not sufficient basis on which to make CCTV a mandatory requirement in abattoirs in Wales’. It concludes that CCTV can be a useful tool in abattoirs for helping to raise standards of animal welfare, particularly where it can be used as a training tool. The BVA and VPHA believe that mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses, and allowing vets unrestricted access to CCTV footage, are vital to safeguarding animal welfare, assisting with enforcement, and instilling customer confidence. They note that only eight large abattoirs of the total 26 abattoirs in Wales have CCTV, and comment: ‘Although the bulk of animals in Wales are slaughtered in these eight abattoirs, lack of CCTV in other abattoirs means 3.4 per cent of poultry are slaughtered without CCTV safeguards, accounting for over two million birds, and 10.5 per cent of sheep, pigs and cattle are slaughtered without CCTV, nearly 385,000 animals. The potential risk of welfare harm to these animals is increased by this lack of CCTV.’ Neil Paton, president of the BVA’s Welsh Branch, said: ‘We are disappointed that the task and finish group has not taken on board the concerns of vets working in slaughterhouses and not followed the logic of their own arguments about the benefits of CCTV highlighted in the report. While we know that CCTV is not the answer to all welfare concerns, it is recognised as an important tool by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee and encourages the highest standards of animal welfare and good stockmanship. We also need to ensure that where CCTV is installed, vets can have access to the footage. If there isn’t CCTV footage, or vets cannot access the footage, how can the number of reported incidents in abattoirs be verified?’ Gudrun Ravetz, the BVA President, said that vets who worked in slaughterhouses, and all those who cared about animal welfare, were striving for a culture of compassion in abattoirs. ‘CCTV is an important tool in encouraging and implementing such a culture,’ she said. ‘The report’s recommendations encourage abattoirs to install and use CCTV effectively for training purposes, but, together with the VPHA, we would like to re-emphasise our calls for CCTV to be mandatory in all slaughterhouses in the UK and for legislation to ensure that footage is readily available to vets. We recognise that the cost of installing CCTV may be a burden for some very small abattoirs, but it is important that the animals we farm for food have both a good life and a humane death, and CCTV has a key role to play in ensuring these requirements are met.’