Animal Welfare Solicitors

Our team at Roythornes has experience in dealing with animal welfare infringements that can arise on farm, during transport and at slaughterhouses.

Animal welfare on farm

For all cattle farmers, and indeed all livestock farmers in general, the conditions animals are kept in on the farm, the use of veterinary medicines, the registration of animals and the testing for diseases can all come under scrutiny.

Animal welfare is high on the political agenda and this often results in actions taken by the relevant government bodies against farmers. This can be in the form of enforcement notices or interviews under caution for alleged breaches of the law.

Our recognised experts can help with challenging actions taken by regulatory bodies such as the Food Standards Agency, Trading Standards, DEFRA, APHA and the Environment Agency. This could take the form of writing a formal letter, making an appeal to the Magistrates’ Court or Tribunal, challenging a decision by way of Judicial Review in the High Court, assisting with the preparation of a response to an interview under caution or representing and advising you during prosecution in the Court.

Animal welfare in transport

Businesses which are involved in the transport of livestock can come up against a number of animal welfare challenges.

The transport of live animals is highly regulated and can result in legal enforcement action being taken by regulatory bodies such as the APHA or Trading Standards. This can happen for example, where an animal which is not fit for transport is transported and/or where an animal appears to have been harmed or injured in transit or is at risk of harm or injury. This could be identified by the authorities as a result of random on the road checks, at the livestock market or at the slaughterhouse. Problems could range from the structure of the trailer or lorry not being sound, journeys being too long or without enough ventilation or poor driving resulting in injury.

There is also a biosecurity element to the livestock transport business with requirements for washing trailers after use. Enforcement actions by the regulator could result in a driver’s licence to transport livestock being suspended or revoked, a letter and/or an interview under caution.

Our recognised experts can help with challenging actions taken by regulatory bodies such as the Food Standards Agency, Trading Standards, DEFRA, APHA and the Environment Agency. This could take the form of writing a formal letter, making an appeal to the Magistrates Court or Tribunal, challenging a decision by way of Judicial Review in the High Court, assisting with the preparation of a response to an interview under caution or representing and advising you during prosecution in the Court.

Animal welfare at slaughterhouse

Animal welfare is an emotive topic. Proponents of animal welfare advocate that the rules can never be strict enough whereas there are many who believe that the complicated rules applicable to slaughterhouses go too far.

The Mandatory Use of CCTV in Slaughterhouses (England) Regulations 2018, which requires all slaughterhouses to have CCTV in all areas of their plant where live animals are present, is an example of the draconian nature of the law in this area.

The slaughterhouse operator is responsible for ensuring compliance with both the European and domestic regulations on the welfare of animals at the time of the killing. These rules require, amongst other things, that all slaughtermen and operatives who handle live animals are competent/suitably qualified and that the slaughterhouse is properly maintained and equipped to deal with animals humanely.

Our team has experience in dealing with animal welfare infringements that can arise during slaughter. We challenge the service of Welfare Enforcement Notices to the First Tier Tribunal as well as taking steps to appeal decisions by the Food Standards Agency to suspend or revoke an operative’s CoCs. In addition, we regularly assist clients at PACE interview and defend prosecutions in the criminal courts.