The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003

Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 3272

ANIMALS, ENGLAND

PREVENTION OF CRUELTY

The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003

Made

13th December 2003

Laid before Parliament

15th December 2003

Coming into force—

Regulations 2(3) and 2(1)(to the extent that it applies to regulation 2(3))

6th January 2005

Remainder of these Regulations

6th January 2004

The Secretary of State, being designated M1 for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 M2 in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of her powers under that section makes the following Regulations:

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 1972/1811.

M2 1972 c. 68.

Title, extent and commencement E+W

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003 and apply to England only.

(2) Regulation 2(3) and regulation 2(1) (to the extent that it applies to regulation 2(3)) come into force on 6th January 2005.

(3) The remainder of these Regulations come into force on 6th January 2004.

Amendment of the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 E+W

2.—(1) The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 M3 are amended in accordance with the remaining paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) In Schedule 1 (the licensing of slaughtermen), the following is added after sub-paragraph 9(2)—

“(3) Any person whose licence has been suspended or revoked under sub-paragraph (1) above shall, whether or not that suspension or revocation is the subject of an appeal pursuant to paragraph 11 below, surrender it to the Agency within 14 days of receipt of a notice informing him of the suspension or revocation.”.

(3) In Schedule 4 (restraint of animals before stunning, slaughter or killing), the following is substituted for sub-paragraph 6(2)(c)—

“(c) no bird is suspended for more than 3 minutes in the case of a turkey or 2 minutes in other cases before being stunned or killed.”.

(4) In Schedule 6 (bleeding or pithing of animals), sub-paragraphs 2(3) and 2(4) are deleted.

(5) In Schedule 9 (slaughter or killing methods for the purpose of disease control), the following is added after subparagraph 2(f)—

“(g) for birds, a pneumatic or cartridge operated percussive device producing immediate death, provided that nothing more is done to a bird before it has been ascertained that the bird is dead.”.

Marginal Citations

M3 S.I. 1995/731; relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2000/656.

Ben Bradshaw

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

13th December 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

1.  These Regulations, which apply to England only, amend the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 (“ the 1995 Regulations”). The 1995 Regulations give effect to Council Directive 93/119/EC on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing (OJ No. L 340, 31.12.93, p.21). These Regulations amend Schedules 1, 4, 6 and 9 to the 1995 Regulations. E+W

2.  The amendment to Schedule 1 requires a person whose licence has been suspended or revoked to surrender the licence to the Food Standards Agency. E+W

3.  The amendment to Schedule 4 shortens the time that birds can be suspended before being stunned or killed. This measure does not come into force until 6th January 2005. E+W

4.  The amendments to Schedule 6 remove the requirement that certain animals are not bled within sight of any other such animals. E+W

5.  The amendment to Schedule 9 permits the use of pneumatic or cartridge operated percussive devices producing immediate death for the slaughter or killing of birds for the purpose of disease control. E+W

6.  A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Animal Welfare), 6th Floor, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ. E+W