Wales must bring its abattoirs up to date

FROM last October all slaughterhouses in England have been required to install CCTV to protect the welfare of animals at slaughter. Just this week, the Scottish Government too has announced it will legislate to require this.

In both cases, this followed overwhelming public support for the move in response to government consultations.

Yet Wales lags behind. No consultation of the Welsh public. And no legislation for CCTV to be installed here.

Instead, just an offer of some funding to be taken up on a voluntary basis by those slaughterhouses disposed to.

At the moment, 14 out of 26 Welsh slaughterhouses have no CCTV.

Of those that do, the government has no idea how it is used or whether it is properly sited. It appeals to “official welfare controls” in place, but astonishingly, fails to provide adequate funding even for this – just £20,000 this year to cover 26 slaughterhouses in Wales.

A trivial amount which shows a disregard for the welfare of animals at the time when they are most vulnerable.

Wales often claims “high welfare standards” for its livestock industry. But if it doesn’t soon require that CCTV is installed in its slaughterhouses, then it will continue to fall behind other parts of the UK in its treatment of animals at slaughter.