Annual Animal Welfare Report 2023/24
Animal Welfare - Annex 2
FSA 24/09/08 - Report by Junior Johnson and Kevin Maher
Total throughput and non-compliances
This data shows the total annual throughput and incidences of major and critical animal welfare related non-compliances in slaughterhouses. The table below summarises the figures from 2018/19 to 2023/24. It shows that since 2018 the proportion of animals detected being involved in major and critical incidents has remained very low, at a fraction of 1% of all animals.
Note, for comparison purposes we can only use the data from 2020/21 onwards because legacy systems did not routinely capture the number animals processed not in compliance with welfare.
Level 3 (major) and level 4 (critical) slaughterhouse animal welfare non-compliances
|
|
2018/2019 |
2019/2020 |
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total number of animals processed (throughput) |
1,045,801,000 |
1,055,611,000 |
1,038,234,124 |
1,036,098,739 |
1,013,294,689 |
1,009,052,611 |
|
Animals processed in compliance with welfare |
1,045,790,000 |
1,055,592,000 |
1,038,194,198 |
1,036,047,607 |
1,013,244,791 |
1,009,008,596 |
|
Animals processed not in compliance with welfare |
11,000 |
19,000 (A) |
39,926 (B) |
51,132 (C) |
49,898 (D) |
44,015 (E) |
|
Percentage of animals processed compliantly |
99.99895% |
99.99820% |
99.99615% |
99.99506% |
99.99400% |
99.99564% |
|
Percentage of animals involved in noncompliance |
0.00105% |
0.00180% |
0.00384% |
0.00494% |
0.00492% |
0.00436% |
(A) includes a single incident involving 10,000 birds "Gas stunning equipment not optimised" scored as level 3 for potential to cause animal suffering.
(B) includes three instances, totalling 20,573 birds of mechanical breakdowns that delayed processing. There was no evidence that the birds experienced suffering or distress.
(C) includes three instances, totalling 46,281 birds where food / water / ventilation was not adequately provided. There was no evidence that the birds experienced suffering or distress.
(D) 40,089 of the 49,898 animals were scored at level 3 (potential for suffering). Of that, there was an incident of 17,400 birds in which unloading was delayed, however the birds were prioritised for slaughter and did not suffer from the delay.
(E) Includes a batch of 30,000 birds and a batch of 10,650 birds where slaughter was delayed due to plant breakdowns and feed/water was not provided.