A shocking two-month slaughterhouse investigation by Animal Justice Project reported in the Times newspaper today has revealed footage appearing to show rampant animal abuse and extensive legislative breaches, despite the presence of CCTV and a government-appointed vet.

Animal protection NGO Animal Justice Project said the 200 hours of footage it obtained covertly showed that the public was being “scammed into believing the UK government has systems in place ‘protecting’ farmed animals… when what exists are smokescreens concealing the reality.”

CCTV has been a legal requirement in slaughterhouses in England since May 2018. Animal Welfare Minister Lord Gardiner at the time said that CCTV would “ensure all animals are treated with the utmost respect at all stages of life.” Yet despite the presence of CCTV, family-owned slaughterhouse G & G B Hewitt Ltd. in Chester has for six years been deemed ‘generally satisfactory’ by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) watchdog.

The findings of the investigation have been backed by UK government Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer and former FSA Veterinary Director, Alick Simmons.

“The overall impression given is of routine poor practice in premises barely fit for purpose. The circumstances are made worse by poorly trained and poorly supervised operatives,” said Simmons. “For example, the handling, stunning and killing of piglets is barely adequate, the stunning equipment appears to fail on several occasions, repeated shouting by the operatives simply adds to the animals' distress and, at no time, are operatives seen to monitor the effectiveness of the stun.”

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Animal Justice Project is also calling for an urgent and independent review into UK slaughterhouses, and a cessation of public funding for abattoirs under the new Agriculture Act 2020. In July last year, financial support for small slaughterhouses was confirmed following a House of Lords debate. Campaigners for the amendment, such as Patrick Holden, chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, said the move would support “producers of high welfare, locally-produced meat from environmentally sustainable farms.” They would undoubtedly argue that stopping public funding now would only worsen the situation at facilities like G & G B Hewitt Ltd. by increasing financial pressure and further driving down standards.

It is clear however that the government’s own watchdog is failing to adequately monitor slaughterhouses, regardless of how much public money is being given to them. According to FSA data obtained by the Guardian in 2014, there were more than 4,000 severe breaches of animal welfare regulations in just two years with claims that the figures were under-reported due in part to the fact that the FSA does not subject slaughterhouses to unannounced inspections.

Furthermore, Animal Justice Project said that its analysis of published FSA audit data had revealed a low number of breaches reported within UK slaughterhouses over the past year.

“Out of 4 million cows, pigs, sheep and goats slaughtered in slaughterhouses, just 3,604 animals were reported as being subjected to non-compliances over 291 cases, and a mere 3.4% led to an investigation,” said the NGO.

Animal Justice Project has also called on George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to oversee an immediate review of the Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing (WATOK) slaughterhouse legislation, multiple breaches of which appear to be shown in the footage from G & G B Hewitt Ltd.

“Our 200-hour undercover investigation, which took place following an industry-led review of UK slaughter legislation in January, reveals extensive suffering and abuse, as well as law-breaking, right under the nose of the government vet and CCTV,” said Animal Justice Project founder Claire Palmer.

“A piglet clearly alive in a scalding tank, bulls beaten for over 40 minutes, and workers, including the manager, ignoring the law as they hack into the throats and legs of sheep and pigs whilst the animals are still thrashing.

“These were daily occurrences within this Chester-based abattoir and yet the government’s own watchdog stamped the facility with its seal of approval for at least six years. We believe issues are being unseen and under-reported. Instead of ploughing public funding into the abattoir sector, at a time when even the United Nations is pushing governments to promote plant-based eating, it must urgently address the fact that the system is failing farmed animals at their time of death.”

WATOK was reviewed in January this year with Defra considering evidence from the British Veterinary Association (BVA), the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the FSA. However, the BVA saw the need to issue a statement asking Defra to commit to the improvements outlined in the report. In light of its latest investigation, Animal Justice Project is calling on Defra to conduct a fresh review that is independent of both the FSA and the NFU.

TAKE ACTION TODAY: Visit Animaljusticeproject.com/scammed and donate to support this and future investigations.

Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager for Surge.

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