Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of animal welfare practices in slaughterhouses.

The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals when slaughtered and official veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses to monitor and enforce welfare requirements. When the FSA identifies breaches, they are fully investigated, and proportionate action is taken to protect animal welfare. It carries out a rigorous programme of annual audits in approved slaughterhouses.

Post-implementation reviews of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015, the most recent of which was published earlier this year, have confirmed that the legislation has met its objectives of improving welfare and providing assurance that slaughterhouses operate to high welfare standards.