Red and white meat slaughterhouses: standard operating procedures
What you need standard operating procedures for, the role of animal welfare officers, livestock unit limits and record keeping in slaughterhouses.
Applies to England
This guidance is for red and white meat slaughterhouses (abattoirs).
As an operator of a red or white meat slaughterhouse, you must provide your staff with detailed instructions on how to treat animals when they’re working with them.
These instructions are known as standard operating procedures (SOPs). SOPs are designed to spare animals any avoidable pain or distress as part of Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (WATOK) regulations.
What you need SOPs for
You need separate SOPs for different types of animals, such as separate SOPs for unloading sheep and unloading cattle.
Your SOPs must set out how to:
- unload animals
- keep animals in holding pens and fields (lairage)
- move and handle animals
-
restrain animals
- stun and kill animals
- monitor the stunning of animals
- carry out slaughter without stunning in accordance with religious rites
- animal welfare officer (AWO) role and responsibilities
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) can ask to see your SOPs. The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has an example SOP in its guide to good practice on welfare at slaughter (appendix B).
SOP for animal stunning
You must use stunning methods that meet the requirements for red meat stunning and white meat stunning.
For each method you use to stun animals, you need to have a SOP which :
- states the stunning method to be used and the required parameters (such as electrical current, gas concentrations, cartridge power)
- includes the manufacturer’s recommendations on using and maintaining the stunning equipment you use
- explains how to check an animal has been properly stunned and check for signs of consciousness and unconsciousness
- explain what to do if an animal has not been properly stunned
Appointing an AWO
Red meat slaughterhouses
You must appoint at least one AWO if you operate a slaughterhouse that slaughters more than 1,000 livestock units a year. Some animals count as a whole livestock unit, others count as part of a unit.
| Animal | Number of livestock units |
|---|---|
| Adult cattle and horses | 1 unit |
| Other cattle | 0.5 units |
| Pigs over 100kg | 0.2 units |
| Other pigs | 0.15 units |
| Sheep and goats | 0.1 units |
| Lambs, kids and piglets under 15kg | 0.05 unit |
White meat slaughterhouses
You must appoint at least one AWO if you slaughter more than 150,000 birds or rabbits a year.
Read about other white meat slaughterhouse requirements you must follow.
Read about red meat slaughterhouse requirements for unloading, handling and holding animals and restraining, stunning and killing animals which you must follow.
Role of an AWO
You must set out the AWO’s responsibilities in a SOP and give the AWO, and all staff, a copy.
You must make sure that the AWO is present whenever you slaughter animals. The AWO must help all staff follow the rules on animal welfare.
You must give the AWO the authority to monitor any operations and put things right, for example, correcting mistakes or reporting incidents to the manager.
Your AWO cannot be the same person as your on-site FSA vet – these are 2 different roles.
AWO training
The AWO must hold a certificate of competence (CoC) for all operations they’re responsible for.
Keeping records on animal welfare
Your AWO must record all action they take to improve animal welfare at your slaughterhouse.
You must keep these records for at least a year as the FSA may ask to see them.
Keeping records of checks
You must keep records when you do your regular checks on stunning, to make sure stunning is being done efficiently.
You must carry out these checks on a sample of animals after you’ve stunned them, to make sure they:
- do not show signs of consciousness
- cannot feel pain
For details on the data you must record, see stunning in red meat slaughterhouses and white meat slaughterhouse requirements. The FSA can ask to see your records.
Maintaining equipment
You must:
- maintain equipment for restraining and stunning in line with the manufacturer’s instructions
- keep records each time you carry out maintenance
- keep these records for at least a year as the FSA can ask to see them
Records on stunning
For each animal you stun, you must keep records on:
- electrical stunning – current, voltage and length of exposure
- gas stunning – gas concentrations and length of exposure
Updates to this page
Published 15 October 2015Last updated 5 June 2023 + show all updates
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Content has been reviewed as part of improvements to the welfare of animals at the time of killing pages. Updates approved by Welfare at Slaughter team.
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First published.