Four RSPCA Assured slaughterhouses have been accused of welfare violations and mistreatment of animals, a new investigation from Animal Rising has claimed.
Camera footage at the slaughterhouses captured widespread malpractice from workers, resulting in aggression towards animals and improper techniques.
The incorrect stunning of animals prior to slaughter was commonplace, with one slaughterhouse stunning 85% of its pigs in this manner.
In another, 96% of cows were prodded with an electric goad – a practice banned by the RSPCA – and 46% of cows showed signs of panic or escape behaviours.
The campaign group added there was also frequent verbal and physical abuse from workers on the farms, with animals “watching in terror and panic” as other animals were killed or stunned.
It comes as the RSPCA Assured scheme has come under repeated fire by campaign groups, with four separate investigations revealing rule-breaking under the scheme in the last few months.
In October it completed an urgent review into its governance, with more than 200 farms subjected to unannounced visits following numerous investigations alleging non-compliance on accredited farms.
But despite experiencing months of bad publicity over the allegations, the review – undertaken by third-party audit body Crowe over the summer months – gave the scheme a largely clean bill of health, pointing out it was “operating effectively to provide assurance that animal welfare standards are being met across members”.
The latest round of footage was recorded in October and November by Animal Rising.
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The RSPCA has suspended three of the slaughterhouses, launched an immediate investigation, and has alerted other accreditation schemes that the slaughterhouses were assured by.
Footage of one farm did not show any RSPCA Assured scheme included animals, however the it has still been suspended based on what was found in an investigation.
The fourth slaughterhouse had already been suspended following an earlier investigation and the assurance scheme wlil carry out additional unannounced visits, it said.
“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,” the organisation added.
“RSPCA Assured’s swift action to suspend three slaughterhouses in the wake of this investigation shows we act decisively when standards are breached – protecting and enhancing animal welfare is core to our work,” said a spokesperson. “Failure to comply with RSPCA standards and FSA regulations is unacceptable.
“RSPCA Assured provides higher standards of animal welfare. Unfortunately, there is very little legal protection for farmed animals and enforcement is virtually non-existent, and we need to unite with other animal protection charities and organisations to call for improved legislation and regulation.”
It added that it was increasing investment with triple the number of unannounced visits annually, a larger investigation team, increased use of technology to consistently monitor standards, and enhanced frontline assessments.
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