Private Slaughter of Livestock Guidance Notes Scotland

The TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (referred to in this note as the 'TSE Regs') cover Scotland only and came into force in Scotland on 24 November 2006. They provide for the enforcement of EC Regulation 999/2001 (as amended), which lays down directly applicable rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). These provisions, together with the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 SSI 2006/3 (as amended) ('the Hygiene Regulations') referred to below, regulate the slaughter of TSE susceptible species, such as cattle, sheep and goats and the lawful options for carrying this out are revised here for enforcement authorities in Scotland. Separate guidance has been issued in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

These guidance notes have been produced with the aim of providing informal, non-statutory guidance on the new legal requirements and should be read in conjunction with the 'TSE Regs'.
However, this guidance covers other animals slaughtered for human consumption and not just TSE susceptible species. These notes are for guidance only and are not an authoritative statement or interpretation of the law as only the courts have this power.

It is fundamental to the operation of the Hygiene Regulations that the slaughter of animals intended for placing on the market for human consumption must, in almost all cases, take place in an approved slaughterhouse or an approved farmed game handling facility in the case of farmed game. Such slaughter is, among other things, subject to ante mortem and post mortem inspection by the Meat Hygiene Service or, in the case of on farm slaughter, to an ante mortem inspection by an approved veterinarian. Private slaughter in an approved slaughterhouse is lawful. However, there may be some circumstances in which slaughter carried out outwith approved premises would not be unlawful and this guidance sets out the position on that as understood by the Agency.

The Hygiene regulations apply to meat intended for placing on the market for human consumption. Thus private slaughter outside an approved slaughterhouse could in principle be lawful if the meat was not intended to be placed on the market or was not intended for human consumption. The purpose of this guidance is to address what placing on the market means in this context. This guidance also explains how TSE controls affect the lawful options for private slaughter.

Food authorities are responsible for enforcing the Hygiene Regulations outside approved premises. They may, when carrying out inspections pursuant to those regulations outside approved premises, certify that meat has not been produced, processed or distributed in accordance with those regulations. Such meat would then be treated as failing to comply with food safety requirements under section 9 of the Food Safety Act and an order for its condemnation could therefore be obtained from a Sheriff Court.

In carrying out this enforcement role, Food Authorities may on occasion need to liaise either with the Meat Hygiene Service (in relation to activities in approved plants) and with the Food Standards Agency (in relation to approved status).