As a consequence of the animal rights group Animal Rising releasing footage on 12th December 2024 shot by hidden cameras at several RSPCA-approved slaughterhouses across England — showing sheeps, pigs, and cows being abused or incorrectly treated — the RSPCA has suspended their certification of three of them.
In one abattoir investigated in Cornwall, an electric “cattle prod” appears to be used on a cow’s anus in an apparent breach of legal standards. Also, employees can be seen shouting and swearing at animals. According to Animal Rising, the incorrect stunning of animals before slaughter was commonplace in the facilities investigated, with one slaughterhouse stunning 85% of its pigs in this manner. In another, 96% of cows were prodded with an electric goad and 46% of cows showed signs of panic or escape behaviours.
The Animal Rising report released in December is the second in a series and builds on its findings from 37 RSPCA Assured farms, which uncovered widespread factory farming and industrial levels of animal cruelty.
Rose Patterson, the lead investigator at Animal Rising, said, “Buyers of RSPCA Assured products believe they’re supporting a kinder industry where animals are peacefully reared and die humanely. Unfortunately, this is an outrageous lie, and the RSPCA refuses to face the realities of horrendous practices within its farms and slaughterhouses.”
An RSPCA spokesperson said to The Times, “We are appalled by this extremely distressing footage and RSPCA Assured launched an immediate investigation and has suspended these three slaughterhouses from the scheme. These sites are assured by a number of other accreditation schemes, with different standards and we have alerted the other schemes. We have confirmed that none of the cows and sheep and none of the animals at the Cornwall site featured in the footage were part of the RSPCA Assured scheme. We are concerned some of the allegations made could constitute breaches of the law, so we have also contacted the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for overall enforcement of slaughterhouses.”
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