The Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995

Conditions on the admission of dead or slaughtered animals

18.—(1) No person shall bring into, or permit to be brought into or to remain in, a slaughterhouse the body of an animal which has died unless—

(a) it died in transit to the slaughterhouse; and

(b) it is removed from the slaughterhouse immediately following the carrying out of any necessary examination performed under the Animal Health Act 1981.

(2) No person shall bring into, or permit to be brought into, a slaughterhouse the slaughtered body of an animal, unless

(a) it has been bled;

(b) the animal has undergone an ante-mortem inspection by a veterinary surgeon;

(c) the animal has been slaughtered as a result of an accident or because it was suffering from a serious physiological or functional disorder;

(d) the body of the animal has not been dressed;

(e) the body of the animal is accompanied to the slaughterhouse by a certificate in the form set out in Schedule 19; and

(f) the body of the animal is transported to the slaughterhouse in a container or vehicle under hygienic conditions and, if it cannot be delivered to the slaughterhouse within one hour of slaughter, it is transported there in a container or vehicle under hygienic conditions in which the ambient temperature is between 0°C and 4°C.

(3) Paragraph (2) above does not apply to the slaughtered and bled body of farmed game if it comes from a farmed game handling facility and the occupier of the facility has performed in relation to the body the duty imposed on him by Part I of Schedule 6.

(4) Paragraphs 3 to 5 of Schedule 8 apply to an ante-mortem inspection under paragraph (2)(b) above.

(5) On arrival at the slaughterhouse the certificate which paragraph (2)(e) above requires to accompany the body of the animal to the slaughterhouse must be given to an inspector or OVS.