Home Slaughter of Livestock: A Guide to the Law in Scotland

Intended audience
This guidance is applicable to:

• Keepers of animals who slaughter livestock¹ on farm² for their own consumption or that of members of their household living there.
• Local Authorities which are responsible for the enforcement of Animal Welfare, Food Hygiene and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) Regulations on farms.

Regional coverage
Scotland only. Parallel guidance applies in other parts of the UK.

Legal status
This guidance is intended to accompany relevant EU and national legislation relating to TSEs and meat hygiene.

Purpose
To provide information on the law covering the home slaughter of livestock.

Revision No.	Revision date	Purpose of revision
1	March 2004	To reflect the change in the EU TSE Regulation
2	March 2007	To reflect the new EU Food Hygiene Regulations
3	June 2009	To reflect the Commission’s interpretation of the EU TSE Regulation.
4	March 2011	To reflect the coming into force of TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2010. To reflect organisational changes in the FSA. To reflect alternative arrangements for BSE Testing.
5	July 2011	To reflect revised requirements for BSE Testing.

¹ The Guide is not intended to cover all livestock species but it does cover those species for which we receive most enquiries and is therefore particularly applicable to the following: cattle, sheep and goats where TSE controls apply.
² For the purposes of this guide, ‘farm’ is defined as any premises where livestock is kept.