Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the written answer 100620 of 6 Jan 2025 on Slaughterhouses, whether the Food Standards Agency plans to begin routinely recording the method of slaughter used at the time an animal welfare breach is identified.

Approved slaughterhouses may use any legally compliant slaughter method. They are not required to notify the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in advance of the method to be used. Many establishments alternate between stunned and non‑stunned slaughter to meet differing market and trade requirements.

Breaches most commonly arise before slaughter commences. They are typically recorded for enforcement before a decision by the slaughterhouse operator on the slaughter method to be used. Examples include the handling of animals during unloading, or failures to provide adequate feed, water, or bedding.

As a result, in most cases the FSA is unable to attribute animal welfare breaches to a specific slaughter method because they occur prior to slaughter.

Similarly, requirements relating to CCTV, such as ensuring camera lenses are clean and recordings are securely retained, apply regardless of the slaughter method used. These do not necessitate different enforcement approaches based on the slaughter method. Attributing these types of failure to a particular slaughter method would be misleading.