Home slaughter of livestock: A guide to the law in England and Wales - annexes

Annex A: useful contacts and links

Contacts

• FSA Meat Hygiene Policy Team (England)
• FSA Wales Food Hygiene Policy Team
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (England)
• Welsh Government
• Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
• Trading Standards
• Local Authorities
• Humane Slaughter Association (HSA)

Links

• Approved food establishments in England and Wales, including slaughterhouses (England and Wales)
• How to spot and report BSE
• Humane Slaughter Association
• Approved ABP disposal sites, including SRM
• Approved TSE testing premises

 

Annex B: home slaughter questions and answers for livestock owners 

Q1. I do not have a cattle passport for my animal, and it is restricted to my holding.  Can I carry out a home slaughter? 

Yes. Subject to the normal rules for home slaughter, the Cattle Identification Regulations 2007 (as amended) does not prohibit livestock owners from slaughtering their cattle on farm for their own consumption, at their own risk, even if they are restricted due to non-compliance with identification, registration and movement rules.

Q2. Can I eat any meat from my own animals? 

Yes, but you must ensure that your animal is slaughtered and dressed lawfully (see below). All SRM must be removed, stained and disposed of as a category 1 ABP, and it must not be consumed. Definition of SRM can be found in Annex C.

Q3. How should I have my own animals slaughtered for my own consumption? 

There are two lawful ways in which to have your animals slaughtered and prepared for your own consumption: 

1. in an approved slaughterhouse; or 
2. on your farm by you or a licensed slaughterer (holder of a Welfare at the Time of Killing licence or a holder of a Certificate of Competence) under your responsibility and supervision. It would be unlawful in all cases to employ anyone apart from a licensed slaughterer to slaughter the animal on your property. It would also be unlawful to have the animal slaughtered anywhere else away from your property other than in an approved slaughterhouse. 

Carcases or parts of carcases from home slaughter livestock, other than those being disposed of as ABPs, cannot be moved to another premises for processing.

The FSA advises that home slaughter (option 2) is likely to carry a greater risk to public health than slaughter that takes place in approved premises (option 1) where animals and meat are subjected to formal inspection procedures to verify that it is fit for human consumption. Livestock owners can obtain the locations of approved slaughterhouses at Approved Food Establishments in England and Wales, and in Annex A.

Best practice

It is best practice to give the Animal Health and Welfare Team, at the LA where the farm is located, advance notification of any home slaughter.  If this is not possible, it is advised that notification takes place within 5 days following the slaughter of the animal. Find contact details for your local authority food safety team on food.gov.uk, or in Annex A.

Q4. What should I do with the waste material? 

If you carry out a home slaughter, any part of the carcase you do not consume would be classed as ABPs under Regulation (EC) No.1069/2009. The waste material would have to be disposed of in line with the Regulation, for example by arranging for the material to be rendered or incinerated in an approved facility and appropriate records kept of disposal.  APHA or LAs (or, in some cases, Environmental Health departments) can advise on what your options are. SRM must be removed from cattle, sheep and goats and must not be consumed. SRM must be stained and disposed of as category 1 ABP. GOV.UK provides further guidance on APB categories, site approval, hygiene and disposal for England and Wales.

Q5. Can I sell the meat from my own animals? 

Only if the animal has been slaughtered at an approved slaughterhouse would it be lawful for you to place the meat on the market. For example, by offering it for sale in your farm shop or serving it to guests of your bed and breakfast enterprise. Livestock owners can obtain the locations of approved slaughterhouses at Approved Food Establishments in England and Wales, and in Annex A.

Q6. Does the restriction on supplying home slaughtered meat apply to partnerships or joint owners? 

Yes, unless the partner or joint owners are family members living as part of the same household. It is unlikely that a Court would decide that supplying meat from a home slaughter would be rendered lawful simply because the supply was carried out within a partnership or to a co-owner. 

Q7. What about TSE controls for home slaughtered pigs, poultry, farmed game or rabbits? 

The TSE Regulations do not apply to pigs, poultry, farmed game and rabbits. 

Q8. How do I get a BSE test done for my home-slaughtered cattle?

You should contact an approved BSE sampling site to make the arrangements for testing. GOV.UK provides details of approved BSE sampling sites from APHA.

Q9. Can an approved slaughterhouse undertake a private slaughter for me? 

Yes, provided that the slaughter takes place in an approved slaughterhouse. A private slaughter would be subject to the same rules and procedures as a conventional (commercial) slaughter. Livestock owners can obtain the locations of approved slaughterhouses at Approved Food Establishments in England and Wales, and in Annex A.

Q10. Can l have an animal privately slaughtered other than in an approved slaughterhouse? 

Yes, but only on your premises under the following circumstances:

• By you or, if you are not prepared to carry out the slaughter yourself, a WATOK licensed slaughterer or holder of a Certificate of Competence under your responsibility and supervision on farm for your own personal consumption (see Q3 above).
• If an animal has an accident/injury that prevents it being moved to the slaughterhouse for welfare reasons, it may be slaughtered on the farm under emergency slaughter provisions, with the meat then being returned to you. However, under these circumstances, such animals must be subject to veterinary examination and certification on farm before slaughter and onward transport to an approved slaughterhouse where the carcase would undergo formal inspection procedures to verify that it is fit for human consumption. If the meat is deemed fit for human consumption, it can be used for your own consumption and it can also be placed on the market.
• Under an exemption which allows you to slaughter on your holding small quantities of poultry or lagomorphs (rabbits) reared there and place their meat on the market for human consumption, subject to certain conditions. For further information, please see Annex B, paragraph B of Operational policy for approval of food establishments.

Annex C: definition of specified risk material (SRM)

Cattle

• Under 12 months of age: no SRM
• Over 12 months of age: skull excluding the mandible and including the brain and eyes, and spinal cord

Sheep and goats 

• Under 12 months of age: no SRM
• Over 12 months of age (or permanent incisor erupted or aged over 12 months as estimated by a method approved by the FSA): skull, including the brain and eyes and excluding the horns and spinal cord

Staining requirements for SRM 

Staining involves treating the material (whether by immersion, spraying or other application) with a colouring agent using a solution of such a strength that the staining is clearly visible.

The stain must be applied in such a way that the colouring remains clearly visible:

• over the whole of the cut surface and the majority of the head in the case of the head of a sheep or goat, and 
• in the case of all other specified risk material, over the whole surface of the material.