Welfare of Animals at Slaughter Act 1991

1991 CHAPTER 30

An Act to make further provision for the welfare of animals at slaughter.

[27th June 1991]

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Regulations under section 38 of the 1974 Act and section 9 of the 1980 Act. E+W+S

In section 38 of the 1974 Act (regulations for securing humane conditions of slaughter in slaughterhouses and knackers’ yards) the following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (5)—

“(5A) Regulations under this section may require occupiers of premises used as slaughterhouses or knackers’ yards to secure that the provisions of regulations under this section are complied with on the premises.”; and in section 9 of the 1980 Act (the corresponding Scottish provision) the same subsection shall be added as subsection (4).

F1 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E+W+S

Textual Amendments

F1 S.2 repealed (1.4.1995) by S.I.1995/731, reg.28(1), Sch.13

F2 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E+W+S

Textual Amendments

F2 S.3 repealed (1.4.1995) by S.I.1995/731, reg.28(1), Sch.13

4 Execution and enforcement of provisions with respect to slaughter of animals. E+W+S

(1) The existing provisions of section 41 of the 1974 Act (which impose on every local authority a duty to execute and enforce in their district the provisions of Part II of that Act and any regulations made under it) shall become subsection (1), and the following subsections shall be added at the end—

“(2) In particular, every local authority shall, for the purpose of securing the execution of those provisions, make arrangements for the supervision by persons having such qualifications as may be prescribed by regulations under section 38 above of any premises in their district to which regulations under that section apply.

(3) Arrangements under subsection (2) above shall comply with such directions as the Minister may give from time to time.”.

F3 (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F3 S. 4(2) repealed (1.1.2013) by The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (No. 321), reg. 1(b), Sch. 5 Pt. 1

5 Codes of practice. E+W+S

(1) The following section shall be inserted in the 1974 Act after section 41—

“41A Codes of practice.

(1) The Minister may from time to time, after consultation with such organisations as appear to him to represent the interests concerned—

(a) prepare and issue codes of practice for the purpose of providing practical guidance in respect of any provision of this Part of this Act or regulations under it; and

(b) revise any such code by revoking, varying, amending or adding to the provisions of the code.

(2) A code prepared in pursuance of this section and any alterations proposed to be made on a revision of such a code shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament, and the Minister shall not issue the code or revised code, as the case may be, until after the end of the period of 40 days beginning with the day on which the code or the proposed alterations were so laid.

(3) If, within the period mentioned in subsection (2) above, either House resolves that the code be not issued or the proposed alterations be not made, the Minister shall not issue the code or revised code (without prejudice to his power under that subsection to lay further codes or proposed alterations before Parliament).

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) above—

(a) where a code or proposed alterations are laid before each House of Parliament on different days, the later day shall be taken to be the day on which the code or the proposed alterations, as the case may be, were laid before both Houses; and

(b) in reckoning any period of 40 days, no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.

(5) The Minister shall cause any code issued or revised under this section to be printed and distributed, and may make such arrangements as he thinks fit for its distribution, including causing copies of it to be put on sale to the public at such reasonable price as the Minister may determine.

(6) A failure on the part of any person to follow any guidance contained in a code issued under this section shall not of itself render that person liable to proceedings of any kind.

(7) If, in proceedings against any person for an offence consisting of the contravention of any provision of this Part of this Act or of regulations under it, it is shown that, at any material time, he failed to follow any guidance contained in a code issued under this section, being guidance which was relevant to the provision concerned, that failure may be relied on by the prosecution as tending to establish his guilt.”.

F4 (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F4 S. 5(2) repealed (1.1.2013) by The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (No. 321), reg. 1(b), Sch. 5 Pt. 1

6 Interpretation. E+W+S

In this Act—

• “the 1974 Act” means the M1 Slaughterhouses Act 1974; and

• “the 1980 Act” means the M2 Slaughter of Animals (Scotland) Act 1980.

Marginal Citations

M1 1974 c. 3.

M2 1980 c. 13.

7 Short title, commencement and extent. E+W+S

(1) This Act may be cited as the Welfare of Animals at Slaughter Act 1991.

(2) This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the date on which it is passed.

(3) This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.