Animal Welfare - Annex 1

In October and November 2024, the FSA animal welfare team conducted an animal welfare themed audit, which looked at:

• CCTV (requirements, maintenance, and access)

• Back up stunning equipment (operation and maintenance)

• Lairage (water, feed, and provision)

• Prioritising unfit animals (provision and killing)

• Handling and restraint (suitability and operation)

• Stun to stick time (operation and governance)

• Monitoring of unconsciousness/death (protocols and governance)

The audit found that Food Business Operator (FBO) systems are broadly implemented in compliance with the legislation and provide a good level of assurance that the animal welfare legislative requirements are fulfilled

During 2024-2025 we developed an online form for applicants to apply for a CoC to handle and slaughter animals in approved slaughterhouses. The online system was tested extensively and communicated to the meat industry before being implemented in March 2025

In 2023-2024 we supported Welsh Government in their progression toward introducing mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses regulations. In 2024-2025 the regulations came into force. We communicated with the industry and ran a series of field surveys to inform Welsh Government and to support the industry in achieving compliance. Some low-level enforcement relating to positioning of cameras was required to achieve full compliance with the regulations

We agreed funding of the 2024-2025 animal welfare SLA with Defra and Welsh Government, and we developed and agreed Key Performance Indicators

We improved guidance and procedures, and we continued to enhance data sharing on repeat offences and offenders to support enforcement decision making by APHA and LAs

We produced new technical guidance or enhanced existing guidance relating to referring farm and transport cases, recording animal welfare cases, CCTV in Wales regulations, CoC code requirements for restraint at stunning, poultry that is dead on arrival, the approval process of bovine restraint, guides to good practice, back up method for religious slaughter of poultry, movement of oversized / large horned animals to another slaughterhouse, and recording of CCTV on mobile phones

We designed and published revised guidance to assist those intending to apply for a CoC using the online application process

We produced and presented the 2023-2024 Animal Welfare board paper

In the first half of 2024-2025 we produced a report on the 2024 slaughter sector survey on behalf of Defra and Welsh government.

We continued to refine our publicly open data, as well as data tailored for FBOs and other regulators