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

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

Legal requirements and guidance for home slaughter.

Last updated: 19 January 2026
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Last updated: 19 January 2026
See all updates
View as PDF

Northern Ireland

There is a specific home slaughter of livestock guide for Northern Ireland. This provides information on the law in this country.

Contact Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Direct Regional offices for information on:

Northern Ireland

Home slaughter of livestock: A guide to the law in Northern Ireland. (331.46 KB)

Revision history

Revision number
Date
Purpose of revision 
Revised by
5 January 2026
  • Transferred to new FSA guidance template.
  • Contents page updated.
  • Update to legislative references and links. 
  • Update to Legal Status of the guidance. 
  • Simplification of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations section.
  • Update to Animal By-Products Regulations section. 
  • Update to Animal Welfare Regulations section.
  • Update to useful contacts section.
  • Update to SRM list in Annex C 
 Meat Hygiene Policy Team and FSA Wales Hygiene Policy Team
4 September 2020
  • Allow use of holders of a Certificate of Competence or licence to slaughter under Council Regulation 1099/2009. 
  • Addition of best practices. 
  • Addition of record requirements for the farmer. 
  • Insertion of Animal By-Product section.
  • Update to legislative references 
  • Addition of useful links/ contacts 
  • Changes to the layout and format.  
 Meat Hygiene Policy Team

Summary 

Purpose

This guidance has been produced to provide information on the law covering the home slaughter of livestock.

This guidance is intended to explain clearly the legal requirements relating to animal welfare, Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), Animal by-products (ABPs) and meat hygiene. The guidance also identifies best practice.

Who is this publication for?

This guidance is for:

  • Livestock Owners
  • Slaughterers holding a Welfare at the Time of Killing (WATOK) licence 
  • Holders of a Certificate of Competence (CoC) to slaughter animals    
  • Local authorities

Which UK countries does this guidance apply to?

  • England
  • Wales

Key words

  • meat and livestock
  • hygiene and food safety
  • food law, monitoring and controls
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