EU 2099/2009 Scottish background info

Implementation in Scotland of
EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the
protection of animals at the time
of killing

Consultation Document

29th August to 26th October 2012

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
Background 1
The issue 1
Key points 1
Directly applicable measures 1
Certificates of Competence 2
Existing national rules 2
New national rules 3
Religious slaughter 3
Differences within the UK 3
Compulsory CCTV 4
Conclusion 4

PART I – ABOUT THIS CONSULTATION 1
Topic of this consultation 1
Scope of this consultation 1
Geographical extent 2
Business and regulatory impact assessment 2
Audience 2
Body Responsible for the consultation 2
Duration 2
How to make an enquiry 2
The Scottish Government Consultation Process 2
Responding to this consultation paper 4
Handling your response 4
Next steps in the process 5
Comments and complaints 5

PART II – BACKGROUND INFORMATION 6
Purpose and Scope of Regulation 1099/2009 6
Objectives for intervention 7
Previous consultation 8
Directly applicable measures in Regulation 1099/2009 8
Scope 9
Guides to Good Practice 9
Animal Welfare Officer 9
Management practices 10
Operational practices 10
Stunning 10
Restraint 11
Slaughter for religious purposes 11
Scientific advice 11

Enforcement 11
National Rules 11
Falling out of Scope 12
Enforcement 12

PART III – DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION PROPOSALS 14
Implementing regulations 14
Competent authority 14
Derogations 15
Guides to Good Practice 16
Requirements 16
Training 17
Application for a Temporary CoC 17
Application for a CoC 18
Refusal, suspension and withdrawal of CoCs 19
CoC Transitional arrangements 19
Simplified Procedure for three years’ professional experience 20
Falling out of Scope 22
National rules 23
Existing national rules 23
New stricter national rules 25
National Rule Differences between Devolved Administrations 28
Monitoring procedures and CCTV 28
Transitional measures 29
Enforcement 33
Administrative Sanctions 34
Welfare Improvement and Stop Notices 35
Amending or withdrawing a certificate of competence 36
Offences and penalties 36
Powers of entry 44
Appeals 45
Fees 45

PART IV – ANY OTHER COMMENTS 47

ANNEX 1: QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE – PROPOSED MODULE TITLES 48
Bird unit groups 48
Mammal unit groups 49

ANNEX 2: WASK PROVISIONS CONSIDERED TO PROVIDE MORE EXTENSIVE
WELFARE PROTECTION THAN REGULATION 1099/2009 52
Birds for sale outside a slaughterhouse or knackers yard 52
Bleeding & pithing 52
Care and handling pre-slaughter 53

Certificate of Competence 54
Gas - birds 55
Gas – birds outside a slaughterhouse 56
Gas - pigs 57
Horses - facilities 58
Horses - killing 58
Lairage 58
Maintenance 59
Religious slaughter - animals 59
Religious slaughter - birds 60
Religious slaughter - general 61
Restraint 61
Slaughter for disease control 63
Stunning 63
Surplus chicks 64

Executive summary
Background
Animal welfare at slaughter is currently protected by the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter
or Killing) Regulations 1995 (WASK). This transposes Council Directive 93/119/EC on
the protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing. On 1st January 2013 a new
EU Regulation, 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, comes into
effect, replacing Directive 93/119/EC. This was developed in light of scientific
developments, European Food Safety Authority opinions and public concern regarding
poor practice in some member states. Its aim is to improve welfare in several key areas
whilst ensuring a level playing field for business operators.

The issue
This change in EU legislation means that WASK must be revoked, at least in part, and
replaced with new domestic legislation to implement and enforce Regulation 1099/2009.

Regulation 1099/2009 mainly comprises technical rules that are directly applicable in all
Member States. However, it adopts a more outcome-led approach than current
domestic WASK legislation, setting out a number of overarching welfare requirements
that must be met while giving relatively little detail on how this should be achieved. This
could potentially give rise to gaps in protection compared with current domestic
legislation. To offset this, Regulation 1099/2009 provides the option to retain national
rules existing in domestic legislation in 2009 (when the Regulation came into force)
and/or to introduce new national rules on slaughter outside a slaughterhouse, farmed
game, and religious slaughter where these go beyond the Regulation in terms of
protecting animal welfare.

This flexibility in how the Regulation is implemented is unusual and the Scottish
Government must consider the public-good benefits, ethical considerations, and the
financial costs to businesses attached to taking advantage of it. We must also consider
the most appropriate way of enforcing those directly applicable elements of the
Regulation in Scotland. This Consultation is one method by which we shall gather
information to inform the final shape of the implementing legislation. The Consultation is
running for 8 weeks from 29th August to 26th October 2012

Key points
Directly applicable measures
Regulation 1099/2009 mainly comprises technical rules that are directly applicable in all
Member States. These give rise to changes in, for example: the scope of the legislation,
licensing arrangements, management practices, operational practices, and stunning
requirements. This consultation outlines in more detail what these changes are,
provides a link to the Regulation for further information, but does not seek views on

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these changes as we have no option but to implement them as they stand. However,
work has been undertaken in conjunction with other UK Administrations on proposals for
mechanisms to implement these changes in a consistent manner across the UK; for
example on training, licensing mechanisms, enforcement, offences and penalties.
Views on these aspects are being sought.

Certificates of Competence
One aspect of the directly applicable measures that will be of particular interest is the
transition from WASK slaughter licences to Regulation 1099/2009 Certificates of
Competence. The EU Regulation introduces a two-step approach to licensing, with a
requirement to undergo training and assessment by a body free from any conflict of
interest and to exchange the resulting qualification certificate for a Certificate of
Competence. Under the new system, training and assessment to obtain a Certificate of
Competence will be independent of the competent authority and will be delivered as a
qualification in line with an agreed framework and awarded by independently accredited
organisations. Crucially, the requirement for training and a Certificate of Competence
will be extended to those handling livestock prior to slaughter, including in lairage.

The Scottish Government are working to provide a training framework for Scotland in
line with the framework that will be made available in the rest of the UK. Both the
framework and any Awarding Organisations will be accredited by the Scottish
Qualifications Authority. At this point, it is unlikely that courses will be available before
December 2012; we acknowledge that this is far from ideal but propose a mechanism to
allow existing workers requiring training under the new Regulation to continue working
until they can obtain that training. We are aware of the possible financial implications of
this training requirement for small and remote businesses in particular and seek early
views on this.

Until 8th December 2015, Regulation 1099/2009 allows Member States to establish a
simplified approach to issue of Certificates of Competence for staff with three or more years
relevant professional experience. The Scottish Government intends to take full advantage
of this opportunity in line with the rest of the UK and had been working with Defra and the
other Devolved Administrations. Proposals are outlined and views are sought on these.

Existing national rules
Regulation 1099/2009 allows Member States to maintain national rules existing when
the Regulation came into force on 8 December 2009 where these provide more
extensive protection of animals at the time of killing than the minimum standards
prescribed by Regulation 1099/2009. There are a number of specific areas where the
Regulation might be considered to set lower welfare standards than currently apply in
the UK - these are outlined in this consultation. The Scottish Government is committed
to keeping regulatory burdens to a minimum and would not normally consider the use of
national rules to supplement provisions in an EU regulation. However we are also
committed to securing good standards of animal welfare. For this reason, and after
initial discussion with key stakeholders, our starting principle will be to maintain all

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existing national rules that go beyond Regulation 1099/2009. The Scottish Government
will only consider proposals for the removal of specific national rules where there are
valid reasons to do so and where doing so does not compromise animal welfare. This
consultation provides you with an opportunity to propose the removal of existing national
rules where you consider such action necessary.

New national rules
Regulation 1099/2009 also allows the introduction of new stricter national rules to
improve welfare protection given to animals killed outside a slaughterhouse, farmed
game and animals killed by methods prescribed by religious rites. It is Scottish
Government policy to avoid imposing unnecessary additional regulatory burdens on
industry. However, we are also committed to improving animal welfare. A number of
suggestions for new stricter national rules have been made and inclusion of some or all
of these suggestions in the implementing legislation will be considered on a case by
case basis where there is objective evidence that doing so will significantly improve
animal welfare. This consultation gives you the opportunity to comment on the
suggestions made to date, and to propose additional or alternative new stricter national
rules in these three specific areas.

Religious slaughter
Slaughter without pre-stunning is permitted for religious purposes by Regulation
1099/2009, but the conditions laid down for welfare protection in this situation are far
behind existing UK legislation. The Regulation does allow Member States to impose
further conditions or even to ban the practice through national rules. There are
obviously strong feelings from both perspectives as to how far this opportunity should be
taken. No slaughter without stunning currently occurs in Scotland; however, the Scottish
Government recognises the right of members of religious communities to eat meat
prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. We intend to maintain existing
national rules on religious slaughter. We will only consider new national rules where
there is evidence of a likely beneficial impact on welfare and where to do so does not
prevent the production of meat according to religious beliefs. This consultation provides
an opportunity to comment on these proposals.

Differences within the UK
Regulation 1099/2009 is directly applicable to all Member States but the flexibility
surrounding national rules means that there is the potential for differences between UK
Administrations in a number of areas. Feedback from Scottish stakeholders to date
suggests that there is a willingness to go much further to legislate to improve animal
welfare at slaughter in Scotland than appears to be the case in some other parts of the
UK at present. We feel that this stance should be but we would not wish to create
difficulties for the Scottish industry when interacting with the rest of the UK industry.
Views on this question are therefore sought.

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Compulsory CCTV
There have been calls for the Scottish Government to make the use of CCTV in
slaughterhouses compulsory. We acknowledge that CCTV could provide, alongside
other methods, inconspicuous monitoring; however it also has limitations. In addition, an
FSA report (May 2012) recently found no significant variation in compliance levels with
WASK between those premises with or without CCTV. We are aware that the Scottish
Parliament Cross Party Animal Welfare Group has convened a subgroup to take forward
a detailed survey on CCTV and we expect to receive recommendations from them,
probably in autumn 2012. However, in order to fully appraise the proposal for
compulsory CCTV, we would also need to consider the burdens a regulatory approach
would place on small and medium size businesses, as well as the overall impact that
CCTV might have in reducing welfare abuses in slaughterhouses. Given the time
constraints for implementing Regulation 1099/2009, we do not plan to pursue proposals
for compulsory CCTV further at this time. However, we may re-visit the matter in future
should there be clear objective evidence that making CCTV compulsory would have a
significant benefit to welfare monitoring beyond that of methods already available. This
consultation seeks views in that context.

Conclusion
The Scottish Government appreciates that this is a long consultation document;
however, we hope that you agree that this is not unnecessarily so. Implementing EU
Regulation 1099/2009 is a hugely complex project, and it is crucial that we get as much
information from stakeholders and people dealing with the day to day practicalities as
possible. We want to ensure that this Regulation is implemented in the most appropriate
way for Scotland, and the Scottish Government would very much appreciate your help in
determining what Scotland’s approach should be.

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Part I – About this consultation
Topic of this consultation
This consultation seeks views on proposals to implement EU Regulation 1099/2009 on
the protection of animals at the time of killing, in Scotland, with effect from 1 January
2013.

Animal welfare at slaughter is currently protected by the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter
or Killing) Regulations 1995, which transposes Council Directive 93/119/EC. On 1 st
January 2013 a new EU Regulation, 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time
of killing, comes into effect, replacing Directive 93/119/EC. This was developed in light
of scientific developments, EFSA opinions and public concern regarding poor practice in
some member states. Its aim is to improve welfare in several key areas whilst ensuring
a level playing field for business operators.

Scope of this consultation
Regulation 1099/2009 mainly contains technical rules directly applicable in all MS;
however, it provides the option to retain national rules existing in domestic legislation in
2009 (when the Regulation came into force) and/or to introduce new national rules on
slaughter outside a slaughterhouse, farmed game, and religious slaughter where these
go beyond the Regulation in terms of protecting animal welfare.

This Scottish Government consultation aims to inform you of the key rule changes
directly applicable to all Member States and to seek views on proposed legislation to
implement Regulation 1099/2009 (the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing
(Scotland) Regulations 2012). This will:

Establish measures to implement Regulation 1099/2009 in Scotland.
Potentially maintain existing national rules where welfare standards are higher
than those in Regulation 1099/2009.
Potentially introduce new stricter national rules in relation to religious slaughter,
slaughter outside a slaughterhouse and farmed game.
Lay down transitional measures, penalties, sanctions and offences for breaches
of Regulation 1099/2009 and stricter national rules.

We are not asking for views on directly applicable elements; however, we are asking
questions regarding existing and new national rules; transitional measures; and
penalties, sanctions and offences. We are also taking this opportunity to seek views on
compulsory CCTV in slaughterhouses; however we are not planning to take further work
on this forward at present.

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Geographical extent
The new domestic regulations will apply in Scotland only. Separate implementing
regulations will be made in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Business and regulatory impact assessment
It is intended to gather information relating to the likely impact of implementing
Regulation 1099/2009 on businesses separately from this consultation. However, if you
have any issues that you would like to raise at this point you may do so at Consultation
question 30: ‘Do you have any other comments on the implementation of Regulation
1099/2009 in Scotland?’.

Audience
Anyone may reply to this consultation. The Scottish Government would like to hear from
anyone with an interest including food business operators, livestock and poultry keepers,
animal welfare organisations, veterinary interests, faith groups and members of the
public.

Body Responsible for the consultation
The Scottish Government’s Animal Welfare Team is responsible for the policy and this
consultation.

Duration
This consultation started on 29th August 2012.

This consultation closes on 26th October 2012.

Please note that a consultation period of 8 weeks applies, reflecting previous face to
face consultation with key stakeholders during March and April 2012 and the
requirement to implement Regulation 1099/2009 by 1 January 2013.

How to make an enquiry
If you have any queries relating to this consultation contact Pam Kennedy on 0300 244
6673.

The Scottish Government Consultation Process
Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Government working
methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Government, there are
many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Government
consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express
their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and
enhance that work.

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The Scottish Government encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and
appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience.
Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors, and no two exercises are
likely to be the same.

Typically Scottish Government consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to
specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers
are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the issue, and they are
also placed on the Scottish Government web site enabling a wider audience to access
the paper and submit their responses. Consultation exercises may also involve seeking
views in a number of different ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or
questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the written responses received to a consultation
exercise (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are
placed in the Scottish Government library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur,
Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4565).

All Scottish Government consultation papers and related publications (e.g. analysis of
response reports) can be accessed at: Scottish Government consultations
(http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations)

The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as
part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information
and evidence. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses
received may:

indicate the need for policy development or review
inform the development of a particular policy
help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of
other factors, including other available information and research evidence.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a
consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation
exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be
directed to the relevant public body.

This consultation, and all other Scottish Government consultation exercises, can be
viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Government website at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations.

The Scottish Government has an email alert system for consultations,
http://register.scotland.gov.uk. This system allows stakeholder individuals and
organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new
consultations (including web links). It complements, but in no way replaces SG
distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SG

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consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most
interest. We would encourage you to register.

Responding to this consultation paper
We are inviting responses to this consultation paper by 26th October 2012

To improve ease of analysis of the consultation responses we would be grateful if,
where possible, you could use the online survey facility hosted by Questback, which can
be accessed via www.scotland.gov.uk/animal-slaughter. Please note that this facility
does not reliably allow you to save a part-completed consultation and return to it later.
We therefore recommend that you fully consider this Consultation Document and all the
questions before sitting down to complete the on line survey.

Alternatively, you may use the Consultation Questionnaire Word document supplied to
provide your response electronically by sending it, along with your completed
Respondent Information Form (see "Handling your Response" below) to:

AnimalWelfareConsultations@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Handwritten responses will be accepted, although the previous methods are preferable.
Again, you should use the Consultation Questionnaire provided as this will aid our
analysis of the responses received. Please send your response, along with your
completed Respondent Information Form, to:

Consultation
Animal Welfare Team
P Spur
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
EH11 3XD

Please note that due to time constraints, responses not using either the online
Questback survey or the Consultation Questionnaire Word document provided may not
be considered in the analysis of this consultation.

Handling your response
We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether
you are happy for your response to be made public. If using the Consultation
Questionnaire Word document, please complete and return the Respondent
Information Form enclosed with this consultation paper as this will ensure that we treat
your response appropriately. Similar questions will be asked as part of the Questback
survey. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential,
and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government are subject to the
provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have

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to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses
made to this consultation exercise. If appropriate, please explain why you need to keep
details confidential. We will take your reasons into account if someone asks for this
information under Freedom of Information legislation. However, because of the law, we
cannot promise that we will always be able to keep those details confidential.

Next steps in the process
Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public and
after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses
will be made available to the public (see the attached Respondent Information Form).
These will be made available to the public in the Scottish Government Library and on the
Scottish Government consultation web pages by October 2012. You can make
arrangements to view responses by contacting the SG Library on 0131 244 4552.
Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any
other available evidence to help us reach a decision on how best to implement EU
Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, in Scotland. We
aim to issue a report on this consultation process and to lay legislation before the
Scottish Parliament by November 2012

Comments and complaints
An opportunity to provide comments on your experience of the consultation is provided
as part of the consultation survey/questionnaire. Alternatively you may also send any
comments that you may have about how this consultation exercise has been conducted
to the contact details in the ‘Responding to this consultation’ section.

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Part II – Background information
Purpose and Scope of Regulation 1099/2009
Welfare at slaughter or killing is currently subject to the requirements of Council
Directive 93/119/EC, which has been transposed in Great Britain by the Welfare of
Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 (WASK) as amended. In 2008 the
Commission brought forward proposals to replace Directive 93/119 with a new EU
Regulation, which, unlike the EU Directive, contains legal obligations that are directly
applicable and binding in their entirety in Member States. In proposing a Regulation the
Commission’s general objectives were to improve the protection of animals at the time of
slaughter or killing, while ensuring a level playing field for all business operators
concerned, so that their competitiveness is not affected by discrepancies in their
production costs or their market access.

Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at killing was made by the European
Council in September 2009 and comes into effect on 1 January 2013 (although some
measures in relation to layout, construction and equipment in slaughterhouses do not
come into effect until December 2019 for existing slaughterhouses). The Regulation will
be directly applicable in all Member States including the UK. Directive 93/119 will be
repealed when Regulation 1099/2009 comes into effect, except for specific articles
subject to transitional provisions and listed in the Regulation.

Regulation 1099/2009 provides a legal framework to ensure that overarching welfare
outcomes are achieved, namely that the best possible welfare standards are achieved
when killing animals in specific situations. The detail of how this will be achieved is often
left to business operators to dictate according to their local situation. This approach
differs slightly to the current WASK regulation, which although it also establishes
overarching welfare requirements, gives additional detailed technical standards required
for key aspects of the slaughter process on the assumption that if these standards are
met, the required welfare outcomes will be achieved.

Regulation 1099/2009 will apply to the killing of all animals bred and kept for the
production of food, wool, skin, fur and other products in slaughterhouses and on farms,
as well as to depopulation for disease control and to related operations. . It will ensure
that vertebrate animals (including poultry and fish, but excluding reptiles and
amphibians) are spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering at the time of killing.

Animals (other than fish) must be killed by an approved method that leads to instant
death or death after stunning. The only exceptions to this are where slaughter is carried
out in accordance with religious rites (e.g. Halal or Schechita), subject to any national
rules in place in individual Member States, or where animals are killed in an emergency.

Regulation 1099/2009 does not apply to animals killed during scientific experiments,
hunting, recreational fishing, cultural or sporting events or to rabbits and poultry
slaughtered outside a slaughterhouse by their owner for his/her private domestic
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consumption. Some aspects of Regulation 1099/2009 only apply to slaughter activities.
In this context it is important to note that Regulation 1099/2009 defines slaughter as
killing for human consumption, not causing the death of an animal by bleeding as is
currently the case under WASK.

In Scotland, Regulation 1099/2009 will impact on the welfare of a significant number of
animals slaughtered or killed annually:

55 million poultry
1.5 million sheep
645 thousand pigs
616 thousand farmed game
426 thousand cattle
196 goats
Regulation 1099/2009 will affect all 52 Food Business Operators (FBOs) in Scotland
involved in slaughtering pigs, poultry, cattle, sheep, farmed game and other species. In
addition Regulation 1099/2009 will impact on the seasonal on-farm slaughter of poultry.
It will also impact on 26,000 livestock/poultry farmers and others involved in killing
animals outside a slaughterhouse. There will be an impact on companies manufacturing
equipment for use in slaughterhouses. Government agencies e.g. the Food Standards
Agency (FSA) and Animal Health Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA), which are
responsible for approving facilities, verification and enforcement activities and
supervision of depopulation operations, will also be affected. In addition, there is a wider
impact on society as members of the public generally expect the Scottish Government to
ensure that animals are treated humanely at the time of slaughter or killing.

A copy of Regulation 1099/2009 can be found at:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:303:0001:0030:EN:PDF

A copy of WASK can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/contents/made

Objectives for intervention
There are public good benefits and ethical considerations associated with the conduct of
animal slaughter that provide a rationale for the Government’s involvement. Whilst
Regulation 1099/2009 is directly applicable to all Member States it also requires Member
States to lay down rules on penalties and to take all measures to ensure they are
implemented. Penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. In addition,
Article 26(1) of Regulation 1099/2009 allows Member States to maintain existing
national rules ensuring more extensive welfare protection than the minimum standards
provided under Regulation 1099/2009 and Article 26(2) allows Member States to adopt
new national rules in relation to religious slaughter, slaughter outside a slaughterhouse
and slaughter of farmed game. To avoid duplication of statutory requirements redundant

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elements of the current legislative framework must be repealed where superseded by
Regulation 1099/2009. These measures require Government intervention.

Previous consultation
The Scottish Government held meetings with key representatives of the slaughter and
farming industries, religious communities and animal welfare organisations during March
and April of 2012. These were intended to provide an overview of Regulation No
1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing and to initiate discussion on
any key issues to assist the Scottish Government (SG) with the production of a more
focused consultation paper.

Directly applicable measures in Regulation 1099/2009

Regulation 1099/2009 adopts an outcome-led approach. It sets out a number of
overarching welfare requirements that must be met to ensure the welfare of animals is
protected when they are killed, but gives relatively little detail on how this should be
achieved. It obliges any person, including business operators, to ensure that animals
are spared any avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related
operations and requires business operators to take measures to ensure that animals:

Are provided with physical comfort and protection, in particular by being kept
clean in adequate thermal conditions and prevented from falling or slipping.
Are protected from injury.
Are handled and housed taking into consideration their normal behaviour.
Do not show signs of avoidable pain or fear or exhibit abnormal behaviour.
Do not suffer from prolonged withdrawal of feed or water.
Are prevented from avoidable interaction with other animals that could harm their
welfare.
Regulation 1099/2009 goes on to establish a framework for business operators to work
within to ensure that these requirements are met; these requirements are all directly
applicable in every Member State. However, although there is an element of
prescription, the Regulation provides a measure of flexibility for business operators to
determine how these requirements are met at an individual business level through
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Current provisions in WASK also include a general welfare provision requiring persons
to ensure that they do not cause or permit any animal to sustain any avoidable
excitement, pain or suffering. WASK then goes on to prescribe detailed rules for many
individual aspects of the slaughter process, leaving business operators very little
discretion in those areas as to how they meet this overarching requirement. However, in
some areas e.g. electrical waterbath stunning parameters, Regulation 1099/2009 is
more prescriptive.

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There is little difference in the overarching welfare outcomes that business operators
must achieve in relation to those activities where both Regulation 1099/2009 and WASK
apply. However, Regulation 1099/2009 raises the standard of some of the existing
welfare outcomes required and adds new overarching welfare outcomes. As a result the
Regulation requires a slightly higher standard of welfare to be achieved overall than
WASK but allows more flexibility in how that is achieved. In its final form, Regulation
1099/2009 will introduce improved welfare protection in all Member States in a number
of areas.

Regulation 1099/2009 introduces the following new, directly applicable obligations from
1st January 2013:

Scope
Scope widened to include animals bred for production.
Slaughterhouse definition altered and linked to Regulation (EC) No
853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004
laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin.

Two step approach introduced with a requirement to undergo training and
assessment in specific areas related to the work being undertaken by a body free
from any conflict of interest and to exchange the resulting qualification certificate
for a Certificate of Competence.
Provision for issuing Temporary Certificates of Competence to allow trainees to
work under supervision.
No time limit on validity of Certificate of Competence.
Ensure bodies given delegated authority to issue a Certificate of Competence have
the necessary expertise, staff and equipment.
Establish a simplified approach to issue of Certificates of Competence, over the
period to 8 December 2015, to staff with three or more years relevant professional
experience.

Guides to Good Practice
Develop and disseminate Guides to Good Practice.

Animal Welfare Officer
Designate an Animal Welfare Officer for every slaughterhouse above a minimum
size.
Role of Animal Welfare officer redefined and must record action taken to improve
welfare.
Ensure every Animal Welfare Officer holds a Certificate of Competence for every
activity for which he/she is responsible.

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Management practices
Any business operator carrying out killing and related operations falling under the
scope of 1099/2009 must draw up and implement Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs).
Must ensure all persons working with live animals (including lairage staff and live
poultry hangers) in a slaughterhouse hold a Regulation 1099/2009-compliant
Certificate of Competence.
Manufacturers must provide instructions for the use of restraining and stunning
equipment.
Introduce and implement monitoring procedures in slaughterhouses.
Derogation for depopulation reporting where welfare covered by Animal Disease
notification System.

Operational practices
Pens in the lairage should have a sign showing time of arrival and maximum
number of animals.
Electric stimulation can be performed once unconsciousness has been verified.
Must ensure equipment is maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions
and a record is maintained.
Prohibit the use of cervical dislocation and concussion for the routine slaughter
poultry and restrict its use for slaughter under other situations
Cervical dislocation limit increased to 70 birds per day where mechanical device
used.
Lines used to shackle live poultry must incorporate breast comforters. *
Ensure birds are not be suspended live for more than: chickens, 1 minute; ducks,
geese and turkeys, 2 minutes. *

Stunning
Simple stunning concept introduced where the stunning method used does not
result in instantaneous death.
Additional stunning checks introduced with a derogation for reliable methods.
Percussive blow included as a permitted stunning method.
Restrict the use of non penetrative captive bolt to animals of 10 Kg.
Prohibit the use of decapitation as a method of stunning
Use of biphasic CO2 and CO2 plus inert gases incorporated.
Gas stunning methodology amended to incorporate use of Containerised Gassing
Units.
Constant current only required for automatic equipment associated with
restrainers (Excluding poultry).
Constant current requirement for waterbaths removed.
Use specific currents and frequencies to stun poultry in an electric waterbath and
head only stunning of named animals.
Ensure automatic stunning equipment deliver a constant current. *

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Ensure electrical and gas stunning equipment is fitted with a device to record key
parameters and keep records for one year. *

Restraint
Instructions for use of restraining and stunning equipment to be published on the
internet.
Instructions to cover maintenance and operators to maintain a record of
maintenance.
Animal must not be restrained unless operator is ready to stun or bleed.

Slaughter for religious purposes
Ensure all animals slaughtered in accordance with religious rites are individually
restrained.
Ensure ruminants slaughtered in accordance with religious rites are mechanically
restrained.

Scientific advice
National reference centre replaced by the need to ensure independent scientific
support is provided.

Enforcement
Non compliance provisions strengthened to allow competent authority to require
changes to Standard Operating Procedures.

Note: * applies to existing slaughterhouses from 8 December 2019

Member States have no discretion over the introduction of the directly applicable elements
of Regulation 1099/2009 and this consultation will not address them.

National Rules
There are a number of areas where the agreed Regulation is less prescriptive and might
be considered to set lower welfare standards than currently apply in the UK. For
example, if WASK was completely revoked it would:

Allow a third party to slaughter an animal outside a slaughterhouse for the
owner’s private consumption.
Permit small scale slaughter/killing of poultry and rabbits for direct supply.
Permit killing of casualty animals by a knackerman, without a certificate of
competence.
Allow persons under 18 to apply for a certificate of competence.
Restrict consideration of previous offences for certificate of competence purposes
to last three years.
Leave most aspects of religious slaughter unregulated, removing: the prohibition
on inversion of cattle; the minimum period between neck cut and subsequent
movement; and the requirements relating to the condition of the knife and the role
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of the Rabbinical Commission (which currently trains and licences slaughtermen
in Shochetim for the Jewish community).
Remove the requirement that slaughter without stunning must be undertaken by a
Jew or Muslim for the food of Jews or Muslims, respectively.
Where the Regulation sets lower standards than those currently applying in individual
member states, Regulation 1099/2009 allows national rules to be used to maintain national
levels of animal welfare protection existing when the Regulation came into force in 2009. In
addition it allows the introduction of new stricter national rules to improve welfare protection
given to animals killed outside a slaughterhouse, farmed game and animals killed without
prior stunning for religious purposes. This consultation concentrates on these discretionary
aspects of the implementation arrangements.

Areas where it is considered that existing provisions in WASK go beyond Regulation
1099/2009 are outlined in Annex 2. It is the Scottish Government’s intention to maintain
these provisions unless there are valid reasons for not doing so.

Suggestions raised at meetings held with Stakeholders prior to this consultation for
potential new stricter national rules in the three areas permitted are outlined in relevant
sections later in this document. It is Scottish Government policy to avoid imposing
unnecessary additional regulatory burdens on industry and inclusion of some or all of
these suggestions in the implementing legislation will be considered on a case by case
basis and only if there is objective evidence that doing so will significantly improve
animal welfare.

Falling out of Scope
There are a number of differences in scope between Regulation 1099/2009 and WASK. As
a consequence, if WASK was revoked entirely it would:

Allow non stun slaughter of poultry, rabbits and hares outside a slaughterhouse
by their owner for private domestic consumption.
Remove current basic welfare protection for reptiles, amphibians and
invertebrates (including crustaceans) where such animals are kept and killed for
food.

It is the Scottish Government’s intention to maintain the existing levels of animal welfare
protection in these situations unless there are valid reasons for not doing so. The
Scottish Government may lay separate secondary legislation under the Animal Health
and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to achieve this.

Enforcement
Regulation 1099/2009 is directly applicable in UK law. However, to ensure that business
operators comply with the obligations of Regulation 1099/2009 it is necessary for Member
States to make domestic regulations to establish an effective enforcement regime with
proportionate, dissuasive and effective penalties and sanctions. In addition it will be
necessary to ensure that arrangements are in place to implement those aspects of
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Regulation 1099/2009 which require Member State or competent authority input. These
involve the requirement to:

Encourage development of, and assess, Guides to Good Practice.
Develop an action plan to ensure compliance with Regulation 1099/2009 during
depopulation (i.e. disease control) activities.
Ensure sufficient independent scientific support is available.
Establish arrangements for issuing Certificates of Competence.

There is a risk of infraction proceedings by the European Commission if the UK fails to
meet these requirements.

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Part III – Detailed implementation proposals
Implementing regulations
The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (WATOK) will
be made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. They will repeal
WASK in so far as it applies in Scotland with the exception of:

The transitional measures (see below) retained in accordance with Article 28 and
Article 29(1) of Regulation 1099/2009.
The national rules retained in accordance with Article 26 (1) of Regulation
1099/2009

Competent authority
Scottish Ministers will be designated the competent authority for the purposes of:

Assessing Guides to Good Practice drawn up by business operator organisations
in accordance with Article 13(3).
Developing and publishing Guides to Good Practice in accordance with Article
13(4).
Establishing and implementing an action plan for any depopulation operation in
accordance with Articles 18(1) and (2).
Granting derogations from compliance with Regulation 1099/2009 in accordance
with Article 18(3).
Submitting a report to the European Commission on any depopulation operations
carried out and publicising the report on the Internet in accordance with Article
18(4).
Ensuring the availability of training courses in accordance with Article 21(1)(a).
Approving training programmes and the content of the final examination in
accordance with Article 21(1)(c).
Delegating the organisation of training courses and final examination to a
separate body or entity in accordance with Article 21(2) and publishing details of
any delegation on the Internet.
Publicising an up-to-date list of qualifications on the Internet which are recognised
as equivalent to a certificate of competence in accordance with Article 21(7).
Notifying a suspension or withdrawal of a certificate of competence granted
outside the UK to the granting competent authority.

The UK Secretary of State will act as the Member State for the purpose of:

Forwarding to the Commission all Guides to Good Practice validated by the
competent authority. (Article 13(5)).

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Establishing or maintaining national rules for mobile slaughterhouses; adopting
derogations from the rules set out in Annex II for mobile slaughterhouses; making
amendments necessary to adapt Annex II to take account of scientific and
technical progress. (Article 14(3)).
Ensuring that sufficient independent scientific support is available (Article 20).
Notifying penalty provisions to the Commission by 1 January 2013 and notifying
of any subsequent amendment affecting them (Article 23).

The Food Standards Agency, Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency and
Scottish Ministers may act as the competent authority for the purposes of:

Receiving documents or records in accordance with Articles 6(4) on Standard
Operating Procedures, 9(1) on maintenance records for restraining and stunning
equipment, and 17(5) on Animal Welfare Officer Records on action taken to
improve animal welfare.
Receiving and assessing information on the layout, construction and equipment
of slaughterhouses supplied by the business operator in accordance with Article
14(2).
Issuing and delivering Certificates of Competence attesting the passing of an
independent final examination in accordance with Article 21(1)(b).
Issuing temporary Certificates of Competence in accordance with Article 21(5);
Taking steps in the event of non-compliance with the EU Regulation in
accordance with Article 22(1).

Consultation question 1. Do you agree with the suggested allocation of competent
authority and Member State responsibilities?

Derogations
Regulation 1099/2009 permits the competent authority to derogate from any provision of
the Regulation in exceptional circumstances where the competent authority considers
compliance is likely to affect human health or significantly slow down the process of
eradication of a disease.

It is proposed that a measure should be included giving effect to this derogation and
which would require Scottish Ministers to introduce derogations by means of a notice
which:
Must be in writing;
May be general or specific;
May be subject to conditions;
Must be published in such manner as Scottish Ministers think fit; and
May at any time be amended, suspended or revoked in writing.
For the purpose of this provision “disease” would be defined as comprising any disease
of animals. This process could be used to authorise alternative killing methods not
included at Annex 1 to Chapter 1 of Regulation 1099/2009.

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Consultation question 2. Do you agree that derogations should be authorised in
wording by Scottish Ministers should exceptional circumstances arise?

Guides to Good Practice
Regulation 1099/2009 requires Member States to encourage the development and
dissemination of Guides to Good Practice by “organisations of business operators”. If
business operators fail to develop and submit Guides to Good Practice the competent
authority may develop and publish its own guidance in accordance with Article 13(4).
We have no plans to develop guidance where organisations of business operators fail to
do so. Where Guides to Good Practice are prepared, Regulation 1099/2009 requires
them to be developed in consultation with NGOs, the competent authority and other
interested parties. The competent authority is required to assess Guides to Good
Practice to ensure they are consistent with Community guidelines. Once validated by
the competent authority, guidance must be forwarded to the European Commission.

The British Meat Processors Association and British Poultry Council are drafting GGPs
for red and white meat slaughter activities respectively. These documents are not
covered by this consultation but further information can be obtained from the British
Meat Processors Association (Fiona Steiger at fs@bmpa.uk.com) and the British Poultry
Council (Richard Griffiths at RGriffiths:Britishpoultry.org.uk) respectively.

Requirements
Article 7(2) of Regulation 109/2009 requires every person undertaking the following
slaughter operations to hold a Certificate of Competence (CoC) (where slaughter means
killing for human consumption):

The handling and care of animals before they are restrained.
The restraint of animals for the purpose of stunning or killing.
The stunning of animals.
The assessment of effective stunning.
The shackling or hoisting of live animals.
The bleeding of live animals.
The slaughtering in accordance with Article 4(4) (Religious slaughter).
The supervision of the killing of fur animals (not relevant in Scotland)

An Animal Welfare Officer must hold a CoC for every activity requiring a CoC for which
he/she is responsible.

Under Regulation 1099/2009, this requirement does not apply to the following operations

Killing of production animals where they are not intended for human consumption,
including culling and depopulation (killing of animals under the supervision of the

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competent authority for public health, animal health, animal welfare or
environmental reasons)
Killing of poultry/rabbits/hares by owner for private domestic consumption
Killing of animals by owner or person under supervision and responsibility of
owner for own domestic consumption
Killing of animals outwith the definition of ‘animal’ (i.e., invertebrates, amphibians
and reptiles)
Article 11 of Regulation 1099/2009 also exempts persons involved in the slaughter of
small quantities of poultry, rabbits and hares for direct supply of meat to the final
consumer or local retail establishments from the requirement to hold a CoC. However,
application of this derogation is contingent on the maximum number of animals involved
being set by the Commission with assistance by the Standing Committee on the Food
Chain and Animal Health. This has not yet been done and as a result, it has been
assumed that the requirement to hold a Certificate of Competence (and the other
measures in Regulation 1099/2009 that apply to slaughterhouses) will apply to all on-
farm slaughter involving a direct supply.

Training
Article 21 of the Regulation 1099/2009 requires Certificates of Competence to attest the
passing of an independent final examination on subjects relevant for the categories of
animals concerned and corresponding to specific operations. It allows competent
authorities to delegate the final examination and the issuance of the certificate of
competence to a separate body or entity that is independent and free from any conflict of
interest in relation to assessment and issuing certificates. It also requires the competent
authority to ensure that bodies providing or organising training have the necessary
expertise, staff and equipment.

The Scottish Government are working to provide a training framework for Scotland in
line with the framework that will be made available in the rest of the UK. Both the
framework and any Awarding Organisations will be accredited by the Scottish
Qualifications Authority. At this point, it is unlikely that courses will be available before
December 2012; we acknowledge that this is far from ideal. We can confirm that the
course framework is likely to be largely similar to that provided elsewhere in the UK;
provisional module titles for each sector are provided at Annex 1 for information. It is
worth noting that while we are not anticipating any particular issue with the availability of
Awarding Organisations, the Scottish Government cannot guarantee that any
organisations will come forward to take up this role in Scotland.

Application for a Temporary CoC
Before applying for a Temporary CoC (TCoC) the applicant must register with an
Awarding Organisation to undertake the accredited qualification for protecting the
welfare of animals at the time of killing. When applying for a TCoC, applicants will be
required to provide:

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Details of the categories of animal, operations and, if appropriate, the type of
equipment for which a TCoC is sought.
A passport size photograph.
Photo ID (e.g. passport or driving licence).
Confirmation of registration on a training course with an Awarding Organisation
which covers the categories of animal, operations and, if appropriate, type of
equipment, for which a TCoC is sought.
The application fee.
A written declaration confirming he/she has not:
o Committed any offences under EU or national law on the protection of
animals in the three years preceding the date of application,
o Held a previous TCoC for the same combination of species, operations and
equipment.
Further written details if the applicant has:-
o Been convicted of any offences under EU or national law on the protection
of animals prior to the three years preceding the date of the application.
o Been refused a licence to slaughter or kill animals under the Slaughter of
Poultry Act 1967, the Slaughterhouses Act 1974, any regulations made
under those Acts or WASK.
o Had any such licence to slaughter or kill animals revoked or suspended.

The Scottish Government is proposing to keep the national rule, currently applied under
WASK that all prior convictions of welfare offences under national or EU legislation will
be taken into consideration when assessing whether a person can be given a CoC
(previously a slaughter licence). This goes further than the provision under Regulation
1099/2009, which only requires applicants to declare welfare offences committed in last
3 years. The Competent Authority will take past welfare convictions into account when
determining whether a person is fit and proper to hold a CoC or TCoC.

The person receiving the application (OV in approved slaughterhouses or AHVLA
Veterinary Officer / FSA CoC processing team for other premises) will issue a receipt of
application permitting the person to work under supervision while the application is
processed by the FSA and the TCoC is issued.

Application for a CoC
If the applicant is working under a TCoC, he / she may apply for the TCoC to be
converted into a CoC. If a person wishes to continue working, this must be done before
the TCoC expires. A second TCoC will not be issued unless exceptional circumstances
(e.g. sudden illness) have prevented the applicant undertaking the final assessment.

When applying for a full CoC the applicant will be required to provide:

A qualification certificate from an Awarding Organisation (or a Licence to practice
Shochetim from the Rabbinical Commission) confirming that he/she has been
assessed as competent and indicating the species, operation and equipment to
which it relates.
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The application fee.
A written declaration confirming he / she has not:
o Committed any offences under EU or national law on the protection of
animals in the three years preceding the date of application.
o Held a previous TCoC for the same combination of species, operations
and equipment.
Further written details if the applicant has:
o Been convicted of any offences under EU or national law on the protection
of animals prior to the three years preceding the date of the application.
o Been refused a licence to slaughter or kill animals under the Slaughter of
Poultry Act 1967, the Slaughterhouses Act 1974, any regulations made
under those Acts or WASK.
o Had any such licence to slaughter or kill animals revoked or suspended.

Refusal, suspension and withdrawal of CoCs
The Competent Authority may refuse to grant a TCoC or CoC if the applicant fails to
provide any of the required information listed above or if the Competent Authority is
satisfied that the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a CoC or TCoC. An
applicant will have the right to appeal any decision made by the Competent Authority to
refuse to issue a TCoC or CoC. Awarding Organisations have separate procedures in
place to deal with appeals against assessment decisions. A decision to refuse a CoC or
TCoC will be served on the applicant by a formal notice that will confirm the reasons for
the refusal and provide details of the right to appeal.

The Competent Authority may also suspend or withdraw a CoC or TCoC if satisfied that
any provision of the EU Regulation or the new domestic regulations has been
contravened. As with decisions to refuse a CoC or TCoC, a decision to suspend or
withdraw a TCoC or CoC will be confirmed by a formal notice that will:

Give reasons for the suspension or withdrawal.
State when the suspension or withdrawal comes into effect and, in the case of
suspension, state on what date or event it is to cease to have effect.
Give details of the right of appeal against the decision.

CoC Transitional arrangements
It is proposed that specific arrangements should be introduced in relation to the issue of
CoCs for people in employment before 1 January 2013 and for some WASK licence
holders who can demonstrate that they have at least three years’ relevant professional
experience. Under these arrangements:

Anyone with a WASK licence issued before 1 st January 2010 will have until 8th
December 2015 to apply for a CoC.
Anyone with a WASK licence issued after 1st January 2010 who cannot
demonstrate they have at least 3 years’ relevant professional experience will
have until 1st July 2013 to apply for a CoC.

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Anyone with a WASK licence issued after 1st January 2010 who can demonstrate
they have at least 3 years’ relevant professional experience will have until 8 th
December 2015 to apply for a CoC.
Anyone engaged in a lairage/handling operation before 1 st January 2013 who can
demonstrate at least 3 years’ professional experience in that operation will have
until 8th December 2015 to apply for a CoC, provided they obtain a transitional
CoC before 30th January 2013.
Anyone engaged in a lairage/handling operation before 1 st Jan 2013 who has
less than 3 years’ professional experience in that operation will have until 1st July
2013 to apply for a CoC, provided they obtain a transitional CoC before 30 th
January 2013.

Under this approach:

Current WASK licences will continue in force after 1st January 2013 on a time-
limited basis
All lairage workers and other persons involved in live animal handling who do not
currently require a WASK licence will need to apply for a transitional CoC by 30 th
January 2013, and provide:
o Evidence that they were engaged in that operation before 1st January
2013.
o A written declaration that they have not committed any welfare offences
under EU or national legislation in the preceding 3 years.
o Written details that they have not been convicted of any welfare offences
at any point in time or previously been refused a licence.

Simplified Procedure for three years’ professional experience
Until 8th December 2015, Regulation 1099/2009 allows Member States to establish a
simplified approach to issue of Certificates of Competence for staff with three or more
years relevant professional experience. The UK intends to take advantage of this.
Three years’ professional experience is not defined in Regulation 1099/2009.

Definition of 3 years experience

For clarification, it is proposed that three years relevant professional experience be
interpreted as follows:

A person will be deemed to have three years’ relevant professional
experience if they have accrued at least 3 years’ (720 days) experience in a
relevant operation since 1st January 2008.
Professional experience in this context is interpreted to mean carrying out a
relevant operation in the course of employment or in a professional capacity
for financial reward, but should exclude any experience gained whilst working
under the supervision of a veterinary surgeon in accordance with a
provisional licence granted under the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing)
Regulations 1995.

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When calculating experience accrued, a person must be able to demonstrate
that the experience relates to the relevant operation, species of animal, and
where relevant, categories of equipment for which a certificate of competence
is sought.
For certain operations (i.e. the handling and care of live animals before
restraint), it is proposed that appropriate experience gained in a general
husbandry context should be considered relevant experience for that type of
operation.
Three years’ relevant professional experience must have accrued by the time Regulation
1099/2009 comes into force on 1 January 2013. Applicants will be expected to sign a
declaration at the application stage confirming that they had accrued at least three
years’ relevant professional experience on 1 January 2013. Applicants may be asked to
provide supporting evidence if appropriate, when they apply for a CoC / Transitional
CoC.

Simplified procedure

Under the simplified procedure, persons that can demonstrate they have at least three
years’ experience in an operation will not have to submit a qualification certificate at the
application stage, provided that they meet certain conditions. The conditions will vary
depending on whether the applicant is an existing licence holder or a person that has
been employed in certain handling operations (e.g. lairaging, shackling, hoisting) that do
not currently require a licence under WASK.

For WASK licence holders the following conditions will apply and applicants must
provide:

A passport size photograph and photo ID
Details of the species, operations and equipment to which their experience
relates and for which a CoC is sought.
A written declaration that they have at least three years’ professional experience
in the relevant operations (and relating to the same species of animal and type
of equipment).
A written declaration they have not committed any welfare offences in the
preceding three years.
Written details confirming they have not been convicted of any welfare offences
under EU or national legislation at any point in time or previously been refused a
licence.

For persons not currently required to work under a WASK licence the following
conditions will apply and applicants must provide:

Be practically assessed by an authorised veterinarian who confirms that the
person is competent to undertake the operations and has sufficient knowledge of
all relevant legislation and guidance relating to that operation.

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Submit written confirmation from the authorised veterinarian confirming a
successful assessment in relation to the operations, species of animal and type
of equipment for which a CoC is sought.
Provide a passport size photograph and photo ID
Provide a written declaration that they have at least three years’ professional
experience in the relevant operation.
Provide a written declaration that they have not committed any welfare offences
in the preceding three years.
Provide written details confirming they have not been convicted of any welfare
offences under EU or national legislation at any point in time or previously been
refused a licence.
It is proposed that all provisional WASK licences issued in the last three months of 2012
will cease to have effect on 1 January 2013. From that date persons will be expected to
apply for a TCoC and undertake an assessment under the CoC arrangements.

Fees

Full cost recovery will apply to all aspects of the CoC arrangements including training
and administration. Full details of the fees and costs involved are given in the later
section on fees. We are aware of the possible financial implications of training
requirements for small and remote businesses in particular. While data on this will be
gathered separately during investigations relating to the Business and Regulatory
Impact Assessment, we would appreciate any views you have on this at present.

Consultation question 3. Do you agree with the suggested approach to introduce the
Regulation 1099/2009 Certificate of Competence arrangements?

Falling out of Scope
Under Regulation 1099/2009 the following situations fall out of scope and no protection for
animal welfare is provided:

Slaughter of poultry, rabbits and hares outside a slaughterhouse by their owner
for private domestic consumption.
Slaughter of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates (including crustaceans) where
such animals are kept and killed for food.

It is the Scottish Government’s intention to maintain the levels of animal welfare
protection in these situations already existing in WASK unless there are valid reasons
for not doing so. This may need to be by laying separate secondary legislation under
the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

Consultation question 4. Do you agree that none, some, or all of the existing
provisions in WASK relating to the specified situations that fall out of scope under
Regulation 1099/2009 should be retained in legislation under the Animal Health and

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Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006? Which, if any, provisions do you consider should be
removed and why? What alternative arrangements could be put in place?

National rules
Existing national rules
The Scottish Government is committed to keeping regulatory burdens to a minimum and
would not normally consider the use of national rules to supplement provisions in an EU
regulation. However the Scottish Government is also committed to securing good
standards of animal welfare. Regulation 1099/2009 allows Member States to maintain
national rules existing when the Regulation came into force on 8 December 2009 where
these provide more extensive protection of animals at the time of killing than the
minimum standards prescribed by Regulation 1099/2009.

During the Stakeholder meetings conducted over March and April 2012, it was
recognised that retaining such existing provisions in legislation would provide greater
protection for animal welfare than adopting other measures, for example moving the
relevant WASK requirements to Guidance to Good Practice. In-principle agreement was
reached by key representatives of slaughter and farming industries, religious
communities and animal welfare organisations that such existing national rules should
be retained in legislation unless there were valid reasons not to do so.

The Scottish Government will therefore adopt this starting principle and will only
consider proposals for the removal of specific national rules where there are valid
reasons to do so and where doing so does not compromise animal welfare.

The WASK provisions considered to provide more extensive protection than Regulation
1099/2009 and that The Scottish Government propose to keep in legislation are listed at
Annex 2. Research funded by the Scottish Government in relation to poll stunning of
water buffalo indicates that it might be possible to effectively stun these animals in the
poll position, where this is done in a slaughterhouse and the stun to sticking interval is
very short. We are not currently proposing any changes to permit poll stunning of water
buffalo; however any views would be welcome.

Consultation question 5. . Do you consider that none, some or all of the WASK
provisions identified at Annex 2 should be removed from legislation? Which, if any,
provisions do you consider should be removed and why? What alternative arrangements
could be put in place?

During the stakeholder meetings in March and April 2012, some existing national rules
were singled out as worthy of particular consideration in this consultation:

Inversion of animals – this is currently banned under WASK; however Regulation
1099/2009 gives us the option of allowing inversion for religious slaughter. Two options
were suggested during the stakeholder meetings: retain the existing WASK provisions,
or revoke them and allow inversion up to a maximum of 90 degrees. Greater inversion

23

was not considered necessary by representatives of religious communities, who
considered this limited inversion little different from routine inversion to a horizontal
position for foot trimmng on farm. However, it should be noted that in a recent FAWC
Opinion (April 2012), it was considered that there is consistent scientific evidence of the
significant welfare disadvantages of inverting cattle for slaughter. Cattle inversion was
considered a direct cause of avoidable pain, distress and suffering during the animal’s
killing and related operations. Evidence of a welfare benefit from inversion to 90
degrees will therefore be required if we are to consider this option. Such consideration
will also need to take account of the report on restraining bovines by inversion which
Regulation 1099/2009 requires the Commission to submit by 8 December 2012.

Consultation question 6. Do you consider that we should retain existing provisions
prohibiting any inversion of animals, or that we should allow inversion up to a maximum
of 90 degrees for slaughter for religious purposes? Can you provide supporting
evidence for your choice?

Bleed time – WASK currently prohibits movement of animals killed without pre stunning
before a specified number of seconds have passed (20s for goats, 30s for bovines, most
birds 90s and turkey/goose 2 minutes) or the animal has stopped bleeding, which ever is
the longer. Regulation 1099/2009 has no such requirement. Two options were
proposed: retain the existing WASK provisions, or revoke them and add a new more
suitable stricter rule; for example, for bovines research1 indicates that a significant
number of animals will remain conscious post cut for more than 30 seconds and some
for considerably longer. In view of this it has been suggested that the standstill period for
cattle should be increased to 60 seconds..

Consultation question 7. Do you consider that we should retain existing WASK
provisions on bleed time for non stun slaughter, or that we should revoke existing
provisions and replace with a more suitable provision as a new stricter rule? Why? If
you consider that existing provisions should be replaced, what should the new provision
entail?

Targeting of non stunned meat to supply – WASK currently restricts religious
slaughter to slaughter by the Jewish method for the food of Jews and by the Muslim
method for the food of Muslims. This targeting of supply has not previously been
enforced due to practical issues regarding traceability. Two options were proposed:
revoke the provision in WASK as it is currently unenforceable, or retain the provision and
find a way to effectively enforce it.

Consultation question 8. Do you consider that we should retain the existing WASK
provision requiring the targeting of non stun meat to Jewish and Muslim communities?
Why? How do you think it could be effectively enforced?

1
Time to collapse following slaughter without stunning in cattle. Neville Gregory Pages 66 – 69 Meat Science 2009.12.005
Published May 2010.

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Certificate of Competence requirements – WASK currently requires a slaughter
licence to be held by knackermen and any person undertaking culling and disposal on
farm, except in the case of certain activities that are excluded from this requirement (for
example killing with a free bullet, or killing a bird by kneck dislocation at the holding on
which it was reared). Regulation 1099/2009 has no such requirement. Two options
were proposed; retain existing WASK requirements for all sectors, or retain existing
WASK requirements for some sectors and revoke for others where such provision is not
considered a requirement to protect animal welfare.

Consultation question 9. Do you agree that we should retain current WASK
requirements for a slaughter licence for culling and disposal of animals for knackermen
and all farmers? Are there any sectors that you think existing provisions should be
revoked for? If so, why and how would animal welfare be protected?

Third party slaughter activities – Article 10 of Regulation 1099/2009 exempts
slaughter of an animal by a third party where the animal is for the owners own private
consumption. Again it is proposed that the certificate of competence arrangements
should be applied through national rules to this activity.

Consultation question 10. Do you agree that we should retain current WASK
requirements for a slaughter licence for third party slaughter activities through national
rules?

New stricter national rules
Regulation 1099/2009 also allows the introduction of new stricter national rules to
improve welfare protection given to animals killed outside a slaughterhouse, farmed
game and animals killed by methods prescribed by religious rites. It is Scottish
Government policy to avoid imposing unnecessary additional regulatory burdens on
industry. However, the Scottish Government is also committed to improving animal
welfare. A number of suggestions for new stricter national rules have been made and
inclusion of some or all of these suggestions in the implementing legislation will be
considered on a case by case basis where there is objective evidence that doing so will
significantly improve animal welfare.

Slaughter outside a slaughterhouse

To further protect and improve the welfare of animals slaughtered outside a
slaughterhouse, it has been proposed that a number of new measures be adopted
through national rules:

Clearer definition of ‘small throughput’ (this is dependent on the Commission
setting a figure).
Clearer definition of emergency killing.
Specification of electrical stunning parameters for geese .
Requirement for a Certificate of Competence for slaughter for own consumption
by the owner.

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Provisions for the killing of backyard poultry (either for consumption or disposal).
Provisions for farmed fish.

Consultation question 11. Do you consider that none, some or all of the new national
rules suggested on slaughter outside a slaughterhouse are required to protect the
welfare of animals? Which, if any, of the suggestions do you support? Please explain
why and provide details of any suggestions.

Consultation question 12. Do you have any other suggestions for new national rules
on slaughter outside a slaughterhouse? Please provide details.

Consultation Question 13. Can you provide supporting evidence for the likely success
of any of the suggested new measures on slaughter outside a slaughterhouse? Please
provide details.

Consultation question 14. Do you consider any of the suggested new measures for
slaughter outside a slaughterhouse unlikely to work in practice? If so, why?

Slaughter for religious purposes

Over the last few years, considerable concern has been expressed by welfare
organisations and members of the public about the welfare of animals slaughtered
without stunning in accordance with religious rites. The Scottish Government
recognises the right of members of religious communities to eat meat prepared in
accordance with their religious beliefs. The Scottish Government discussed the welfare
of animals slaughtered without stunning in accordance with religious rites with
representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities at the Stakeholder meeting in
March 2012. The matter was also discussed with representatives of the slaughter and
farming industries and animal welfare bodies at other stakeholder meetings held during
March and April 2012. In addition to maintaining existing national rules, the Scottish
Government wants to consider what steps might be taken to improve the welfare of
animals slaughtered in this way.

To protect and improve the welfare of animals slaughtered in accordance with religious
rites it has been proposed that a number of new measures be adopted through national
rules:

Slaughter without a pre-cut stun must only take place in a slaughterhouse
(including poultry and rabbits slaughtered for private consumption), using
equipment and operating procedures explicitly approved for that purpose as part
of the official controls process in slaughterhouses under EU Regulation 854/2004
(This would replace the current Ministerial approval process for bovine restraining
pens).
An immediate post-cut stun must be administered for all bovine animals.

26

Before the neck cut the slaughterman must ensure the knife is surgically sharp,
the blade is undamaged and the blade is at least twice the size of the neck.
CCTV should be made mandatory in premises undertaking non stun slaughter for
religious purposes.
A clearer definition is needed for mechanical restraint.
Manipulation of wounds should be specifically prohibited until the animal is dead.
Non stun slaughter must only be carried out in the presence of a vet.
SOPs for non stun slaughter must be presented to competent authorities for
approval.

rules suggested on non stun slaughter for religious purposes are required to protect the
welfare of animals? Which, if any, of the suggestions do you support? Please explain
why and provide details of any suggestions.

Consultation question 16. Do you have any other suggestions for new national rules
on non stun slaughter for religious purposes? Please provide details.

Consultation Question 17. Can you provide supporting evidence for the likely success
of any of the suggested new measures on non stun slaughter for religious purposes?
Please provide details.

Consultation question 18. Do you consider any of the suggested new measures on
non stun slaughter for religious purposes unlikely to work in practice? If so, why?

rules suggested on non stun slaughter for religious purposes will impact on members of
the Muslim and/or Jewish communities’ ability to eat meat prepared in accordance with
their religious beliefs? If so, which and how?

In Scotland, slaughter for supply of Halal meat currently involves recoverable stunning
(where the animal will recover post stun if no further intervention is made to cause the
death of the animal) The government supports this from a welfare perspective and does
not wish to see implementation of Regulation 1099/2009 jeopardise this approach. If
recoverable stunning is voluntarily undertaken in relation to slaughter in accordance with
religious rites, the application of Article 4(4) of Regulation 1099 means that none of the
detailed stunning method specifications in Chapters I and II of Annex I to Regulation
1099/2009 will automatically apply. As a consequence and, in the absence of national
rules, recoverable stunning undertaken in the context of religious slaughter would
effectively be unregulated. In view of this it is proposed that the methods specified in
Chapter I of Annex 1 and the Specific Requirements at Chapter II to Annex 1 should be
applied for the purposes of stunning undertaken in conjunction with slaughter in
accordance with religious rites, through national rules.

Consultation question 20. Do you agree that the Regulation 1099/2009 stunning
requirements and procedures should apply where an animal is stunned where slaughter

27

takes place in accordance with religious rites? Why? Do you have any suggestions for
alternative stunning parameters, and can you support your suggestions with evidence of
their effectiveness in inducing recoverable stunning?

Farmed Game

During the stakeholder meetings held in March and April 2012, the current WASK
provisions were considered to provide adequate protection for the welfare of farmed
game at slaughter. No new rules have been proposed regarding the slaughter of farmed
game.

Consultation question 21. Do you have any suggestions for new national rules on the
slaughter of farmed game? Can you provide supporting evidence for the likely success
of your suggestion(s)? Please provide details.

National Rule Differences between Devolved Administrations
During the stakeholder meetings in March/April 2012, there were some concerns raised
regarding potential problems arising from national rules differing between different parts
of the UK; however no specific issues were highlighted. The Scottish Government
acknowledges the close industry ties between UK countries and aims to be consistent
with the rest of the UK where possible and appropriate. However feedback from
Scottish stakeholders to date suggests that there is a willingness to go much further to
legislate to improve animal welfare at slaughter in Scotland than appears to be the case
in some other parts of the UK at present. We feel that this stance should be supported;
however, we would not wish to create difficulties for the Scottish industry when
interacting with the rest of the UK industry.

Consultation question 22. Do you consider that national rules in Scotland that differ
from those in the rest of the UK would create problems for Scottish industry? Please
explain why.

Monitoring procedures and CCTV

Regulation 1099/2009 requires business operators to implement monitoring procedures
in slaughterhouses to ensure that animals do not present any signs of consciousness or
sensibility in the period between the end of the stunning process and death. No further
guidance has been provided on how these monitoring checks should be undertaken.
We have reviewed the case for compulsory CCTV to help meet the Regulation
1099/2009 monitoring requirements. It is not possible to require installation of CCTV
under the “stricter national rules” provisions in Regulation 1099/2009 because it is not
possible to adopt new national rules unless they relate to one of the three distinct fields
identified i.e. religious slaughter, on-farm slaughter and killing of farmed game. It would
be possible to make regulations requiring compulsory installation of CCTV in
slaughterhouses under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, “for the
purpose of securing the welfare” of the animals at or immediately before the time of

28

slaughter. CCTV could provide, alongside other methods, inconspicuous monitoring;
however it also has limitations.

Many slaughterhouses have, or are in the process of, installing CCTV on a voluntary
basis and it might therefore be useful to look at the case for additional regulation in that
context. On 22nd May 2012, the FSA published a report on an animal welfare survey
that they conducted from 19 to 25 September 2011 in slaughterhouses in GB, which
included questions regarding the use of CCTV in key areas within slaughterhouses
(stunning area, bleeding area, and unloading and lairage areas). They found no
significant variation in compliance levels with WASK identified between those premises
with or without CCTV. The Scottish Parliament Cross Party Animal Welfare Group have
convened a subgroup to take forward a more detailed survey of existing arrangements in
place for CCTV in Scotland and views on action that should be taken in future. This
survey was issued to 43 abattoirs, butchers and processors in Scotland on 24 th May
2012 with a request that responses are returned by the end of June 2012. It is likely that
the subgroup will make recommendations to the Scottish Government, probably in
autumn 2012.

In order to fully appraise the proposal for compulsory CCTV, in addition to the
information from these surveys, the Scottish government would also need to consider
the burdens a regulatory approach would place on small and medium size businesses,
as well as the overall impact that CCTV might have in reducing welfare abuses in
slaughterhouses. Taking account of these considerations, the potential stimulus the
new monitoring requirements in Regulation 1099/2009 will have in relation to voluntary
uptake post-January 2013, and the time constraints for implementing Regulation
1099/2009, we do not plan to pursue proposals for compulsory CCTV further at this
time. However, we may re-visit the matter in future should there be clear objective
evidence that making CCTV compulsory would have a significant benefit to welfare
monitoring beyond that of methods already available. We would welcome your views in
that context.

Consultation question 23. Do you consider that business operators should remain free
to adopt the most appropriate monitoring tools for their individual circumstances? Why?

Consultation question 24. Can you provide objective evidence of a likely significant
beneficial impact that compulsory CCTV would have on welfare monitoring beyond that
of methods already available? Please provide details.

Transitional measures
Regulation 1099/2009 repeals Directive 93/119/EEC, which WASK transposed;
however, until 8 December 2019 the provisions in Regulation 1099/ 2009 in relation to
layout, construction and equipment in slaughterhouses only apply to new
slaughterhouses and layout. For existing slaughterhouses the following provisions of
Directive 93/119/EEC continue to apply until 8 December 2019:

29

Annex A: paragraph 1 of Section I; paragraph 1 and the second sentence of
paragraph 3 and paragraphs 6, 7, 8 and the first sentence of paragraph 9 of
Section II;
Annex C, paragraphs 3.A.2, the first subparagraph of 3.B.1, 3.B.2, 3.B.4 and
paragraphs 4.2 and 4.3 of Section II.

To ensure the required Directive 93/119 provisions remain in force the following WASK
provisions will remain in force until 8 December 2019.

WASK Provisions Retained until 8 December 2019

Schedule 2 Part 1 General requirements for all slaughterhouses and knackers'
yards

1. The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knackers’ yard shall ensure that--

(b) it has suitable equipment and facilities available for the purpose of unloading
animals from means of transport, save that any occupier of a slaughterhouse or knackers’
yard which was in operation before 1st July 1994 need not comply with this requirement
until 1st January 1996;

Schedule 2 Part II Additional requirements for slaughterhouses or knackers' yards
to which animals are delivered other than in containers

2. In addition to requirements of paragraph 1 above, the occupier of a slaughterhouse or
knackers’ yard to which animals are delivered other than in containers shall ensure that--

(a) any equipment for unloading such animals is of a suitable height and design for that
purpose, has non-slip flooring and, if necessary, is provided with lateral protection;
(b) any bridge, ramp and gangway is fitted with sides, railings or some other means of
protection to prevent animals falling off them;
(c) any exit and entry ramp has the minimum possible incline;
(d) all passageways are so constructed as to minimise the risk of injury to any animal
and so arranged as to take account of the gregarious tendencies of the animals
which use them; and

Schedule 2 Part II Additional requirements relating to lairages other than field
lairages

3. The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knackers’ yard to which animals are delivered
other than in containers shall ensure that--

(a) the slaughterhouse or knackers’ yard is equipped with a sufficient number of pens for
adequate lairaging of the animals with protection from the effects of adverse weather
conditions;

30

(b) any lairage has--
(i) a floor which minimises the risk of slipping and which does not cause injury to
any animal which is in contact with it;
(ii) adequate ventilation to ensure that temperature, air relative humidity and
ammonia levels are kept within limits that are not harmful to any animal, taking
into account the extremes of temperature and humidity which may be expected;
(iii) where such ventilation is provided other than naturally, a replacement means of
maintaining adequate ventilation available for use if the original source of
ventilation fails;
(iv) adequate lighting (whether fixed or portable) to enable the animals to be
thoroughly inspected at any time;
(v) where necessary, suitable equipment for tethering animals; and
(vi) drinking facilities and racks, mangers or other equipment adequate in number
and size for the watering and feeding of all animals confined in the lairage, fixed
where practicable, and so constructed and placed that they are easily
accessible to all the animals, can readily be filled and cannot readily be fouled;
and

Schedule 2 Part II Additional requirements relating to field lairages

4. The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knackers’ yard shall ensure that any field lairage--

(a) if it is without natural shelter or shade and is used during adverse weather
conditions, has appropriate protection against such conditions for any animal using
it;
(b) is maintained in such condition as to ensure that no animal is subjected to any
physical, chemical or other health hazard;
(e) is provided with drinking facilities and, if necessary, with racks, mangers or other
equipment adequate in number and size for the watering and feeding of all animals
confined in the field lairage, fixed where practicable, and so constructed and placed
that they are easily accessible to all the animals, can readily be filled and cannot
readily be fouled.

Schedule 3 Part III Lairaging of animals

13. The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knackers’ yard and any person engaged in the
lairaging of any animal shall ensure that--

(a) an adequate supply of suitable bedding material is provided for all animals kept in
the lairage overnight, unless the lairage has a slatted or mesh floor;
(b) any animal which is kept in a lairage has drinking water available to it from
appropriate facilities at all times;

Schedule 5 Part II Stunning Specific requirements for stunning by electro narcosis--

31

EU 2099/2009 Scottish background info

EU 2099/2009 Scottish background info

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