02.Off to the abattoir
From an animal welfare perspective,
one of the shortest but most important
steps in the paddock-to-plate journey
is transportation to and treatment
within the abattoir. “What happens
to the animal in the time that it moves
from farm to kill is the part you want
to guarantee is the most humane,” says
Grant Hilliard, owner of sustainable
meat supplier Feather and Bone.
The increasing centralisation of
abattoirs in Australia means more cattle
are facing lengthy journeys. The Model
Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals:
Land Transport of Cattle specifies
mature, fit cattle may be transported for 36
hours without water. This can be extended
to 48 hours if animals aren’t showing
signs of fatigue and weather is favourable.
Despite this, some research has found
cattle to be considerably dehydrated
and noticeably tired after 24 hours
of transportation.
The regulation of abattoirs happens at
a state or federal level, depending upon
whether the abattoir is used for export or
domestic purposes. Export abattoirs are
regulated by DAFF Biosecurity,
while abattoirs working wholly
for domestic purposes are
regulated by individual
state authorities that
enforce a national
standard. Meat
that passes through an
export-accredited abattoir
may also be sold domestically.
While export abattoirs
require that a DAFF
Biosecurity veterinarian be
on site during the slaughter
process, domestic meat
abattoirs need only employ
an internal animal welfare
officer. Although the Australian Meat Industry Council, the peak
representative body of meat processors
and retailers, guarantees best practice
welfare standards in all abattoirs, Animals
Australia campaign director Lyn White
says the lack of independent oversight in
domestic abattoirs leaves farm animals
“incredibly vulnerable”.
According to Animals Australia’s
Oogjes, animal welfare is generally of
a higher standard in export-accredited
abattoirs, due to the vet’s legal duty to
report welfare breaches or health-related
issues to both DAFF Biosecurity and the
relevant state authority. Nevertheless, a
Freedom of Information request, lodged by
Oogjes in March last year and shared with
CHOICE, details 55 reports of animal
welfare breaches at Australia export
abattoirs between 2009 and 2011,
including many relating to ill, injured,
moribund or “DOA” animals at export
facilities. The breaches ranged from
animals with pink eye and gangrene
infections to ingrown horns,
broken limbs and cattle in
the very late stages of
pregnancy, some full
term and calving on
arrival. Emergency
slaughter was
often required, yet in many cases
it was not clear what action, if any, state
authorities took after receiving incident
reports from DAFF Biosecurity vets.
While the regulatory
mechanisms vary in export
and domestic abattoirs,
little information is
available to consumers
about audit results of
the abattoirs our meat
comes from. Name-and-shame
registers exist in
some states, and the NSW Food Authority recently
uncovered animal
welfare breaches
at all 10 domestic
slaughterhouses in
that state. Despite
this, there’s no way
of knowing which meat-processing facility the
steak you buy at the supermarket
has come from.
Animals Australia, together with the
RSPCA, has called for the introduction of
CCTV in all domestic abattoirs to increase
transparency in an effort to protect both
animal welfare and consumer interests.
State of the abattoirs
