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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage voluntary take-up of CCTV in equine slaughterhouses.

In February 2015, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) published an independent assessment of the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses which concluded that CCTV can offer real benefits, particularly to slaughterhouse operators, but that it cannot replace the need for businesses to have proper monitoring procedures in place.

The vast majority of horses are slaughtered in slaughterhouses in England which have CCTV installed for welfare purposes, although cameras may not be present in all areas. Official Veterinarians also have the power to seize CCTV footage if they suspect that welfare standards are not being met.

Defra continues to encourage slaughterhouses to install CCTV in all areas on a voluntary basis in order to realise the benefits to animal welfare set out in the FAWC report.