Use the links in the menu below to jump to more information on each subject:
- Transporting sick or injured animals
- Transporting casualty animals
- Animals unfit for transport
- Emergency slaughter on farm
Transporting sick or injured animals
Livestock
It is possible to transport ‘slightly’ sick or injured animals under certain circumstances:
- When slightly injured or ill and transport would not cause any additional suffering or ill treatment.
- If transported under veterinary supervision, following veterinary treatment or diagnosis, or to go to a veterinary surgery for diagnosis or treatment. But only where no unnecessary suffering or ill treatment is caused to the animals concerned.
- Animals that have been submitted to veterinary procedures in relation to farming practices such as dehorning or castration, provided that wounds have completely healed.
- Direct from farm to the nearest available slaughterhouse, only once inspected by a veterinary surgeon.
- Slightly ill or injured animals must not be transported to or presented for sale at markets. This includes collection centres for all ages of animals.
As a general rule, the condition must be minor, should not be expected to worsen or to cause the animal any unnecessary suffering or distress during transport, and should not be painful.
Additional care may need to be taken, such as transporting in individual stalls or pens with additional bedding and monitoring at regular intervals.
Seeking veterinary advice
If you are in any doubt, seek veterinary advice – your veterinary surgeon must inspect the animal in person, communicating their decision in writing to the receiving slaughterhouse and their official veterinarian (OV). The visit should take place on the same day or previous day to transportation to be considered a valid assessment.
There are situations where the condition of the animal is difficult to assess, and it can be hard to make a decision. Always consider:
- The general condition of the animal.
- The duration and particular circumstances of the transport, such as climatic conditions and loading density.
- Whether the condition of the animal is likely to worsen during transport.
- The risk of rejection of the animal by the inspection services in the slaughterhouse.
Each case must be judged individually, and the welfare of the animal must be the first priority.
Sedatives shall not be used unless strictly necessary, and only used under veterinary supervision.
No animal may be loaded by dragging or pushing by any means, or lifted by a mechanical device, except under direct veterinary supervision for transport to the nearest available place for veterinary treatment.
Poultry
It is not possible to transport sick or injured birds without causing unnecessary suffering. They are unfit for transport and should be humanely euthanised by a trained person as soon as possible.
Transporting casualty animals for slaughter
Live casualty animals must not be transported unless they are fit for the intended journey. In case of doubt, veterinary advice should be sought.
There is no obligation for a slaughterhouse to accept live casualty animals for human consumption, but they do have a legal responsibility to manage the welfare of animals arriving on site ill or injured, which means culling and disposing of the carcass, whether they leave the vehicle or not.
Leaving the abattoir curtilage with an unfit animal would constitute a further legal breach, which would be highlighted to the local authorities by the abattoir OV.
Always check with the slaughterhouse prior to transporting the animal. You will need to ensure that the slaughterhouse operator will accept the animal and that an OV will be available to carry out the relevant ante-mortem and post-mortem examinations.
The animal must be accompanied to a slaughterhouse by a food chain information declaration, completed by the owner or person in charge of the animal.
This declaration identifies the animal, any relevant health conditions and any veterinary medicinal products or other treatments administered to it within the last six months, including dates of administration and withdrawal periods.
The disease status of the holding must also be declared. The food chain information declaration must be handed to the OV on arrival at the slaughterhouse.
Live casualty sheep and goats must also be accompanied by a fully completed movement document (either a paper copy ARAMS-1 form or electronic copy using the ARAMS system that can be printed by the haulier if requested to do so by an inspector).
Cattle must be accompanied by a valid passport.
Animals unfit for transport
If an animal is unfit for the intended journey and cannot be transported, treatment or humane killing of the animal should be made as soon as possible.
Options include:
- Resting them in a suitable holding area.
- Veterinary treatment if necessary.
- Humane killing if necessary.
Unfit-to-travel animals can only be transported under exceptional circumstances for veterinary treatment and must be kept under close supervision. Always seek veterinary advice in these cases.
Emergency slaughter on farm
If an otherwise healthy animal, fit for human consumption, has had an accident leaving it unfit for transport, it is possible to slaughter outside a licensed slaughterhouse and move the carcass directly to a licensed slaughterhouse.
The animal must be examined by a veterinary surgeon ante-mortem and must then be accompanied by an emergency slaughter declaration completed by the animal owner (or their agent) and the veterinary surgeon that examined the animal.
You must confirm with the slaughterhouse operator your intention to send them an animal subject to emergency slaughter; this is to ensure that it will be accepted and that an OV will be available to carry out the post-mortem examination. The emergency slaughter declaration must be handed to the OV upon arrival at the slaughterhouse.
An emergency slaughter declaration provides no guarantee that the OV will not identify any deficiencies that would make the meat unfit for human consumption.
The animal must be slaughtered by a person holding a Certificate of Competence or WATOK license for the species in question, or a competent veterinary surgeon. They must use legally permitted methods and bleed the animal after stunning or killing.
Animals not slaughtered according to the above requirements cannot enter the wider supply chain. The veterinarian performing the ante-mortem must be present at the time of slaughter.
The slaughtered animal must be transported to the slaughterhouse hygienically and without undue delay. Once slaughtered, if arrival at the slaughterhouse will take longer than two hours the body must be transported in a refrigerated vehicle or climatic conditions must be appropriate.
Removal of the stomach and intestines, but no other dressing, may take place at the point of slaughter in the presence of, and under the supervision of, the veterinarian. Any viscera removed must accompany the slaughtered animal to the slaughterhouse and be identified as belonging to that animal. More usually, the viscera can stay inside the carcass, providing the animal is processed within two hours of slaughter.
Some bovine animals, if over 48 months, must have a brain stem sample (BSS) taken for BSE testing purposes in accordance with the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (England) Regulations 2018.