Slaughter update welcomed

9:20am Tuesday 30th September 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

European laws ensuring high levels of welfare during animal slaughter need updating to ensure the standards in Britain are met elsewhere, says Welsh Conservative MEP Jonathan Evans.

The commission has proposed an overhaul of 15-year-old rules governing slaughter to update killing and stunning criteria, increase the responsibilities of slaughterhouses in monitoring stunning techniques, and ensure only fully trained staff carry out slaughter.

Mr Evans said: “In the UK we already have generally high standards for slaughtering animals, but this is not the same across the EU, where standards are patchy to say the least.

“We need to level the playing field and these new regulations should help to do that.”