Cattle and Sheep: Euthanasia
(asked on 28th August 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many i) cattle and ii) sheep have been euthanased by shooting, by their department in each of the last 3 years for welfare concerns.
Answered by
Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 4th September 2026
Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officers would only dispatch animals by shooting in rare and complex animal welfare cases and during depopulation.
There are no central records of cattle or sheep killed by shooting by APHA for animal welfare reasons in the last 3 years.