Getting confused - home/private cattle slaughter

Re: Getting confused - home/private cattle slaughter

Wren — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 19:43:50 GMT

Apologies, I have said 'butcher', but on further investigation it turns out that it is actually a small slaughterhouse with an OVS on site. So the carcase will be inspected and stamped before being returned to the owner. Essentially it is the same situation as a schedule 19 (once the carcase is stamped it's irrelevant whether it's sold on or returned to my client), except for the simple fact that the beast doesn't have a broken leg.

So as far as I can see the buck will stop with the OVS at the slaughterhouse - he's apparently happy with the situation and it's his responsibility to apply the stamp. I will not be signing anything but will carry out an ante mortem inspection. If the OVS is happy to stamp the carcase then that's his lookout I guess.

I agree that it's an unusual one. Although I am now a purely equine vet (present circumstance excepted!) I have 13 years experience in large animal work and haven't come across this one. I have done lots of schedule 19s, including doing the shooting and bleeding myself, and my husband and I have used the services of a mobile abattoir to kill and butcher a couple of our own beasts for the freezer but this particular set of circumstances is a new one on me.

Re: Getting confused - home/private cattle slaughter

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 14:21:07 GMT

I've looked into this a couple of times and found it's an inescapable quandary.

It's legal to slaughter on farm for own consumption. Our local knackers vans can't take schedule 1 waste. The farmer is not allowed to transport it and the waste must be disposed of properly by a licensed contractor.

My understanding is that a butcher cannot have a carcase on his premises without a health mark. There are exceptions for wild game tagged by a 'trained hunter'.

You'll know more about health marks than me, but didn't think they could stamp things outside of an abattoir.

In one of my cases I used the loose definition of 'accident' after lengthy phone calls with AHVLA, VDS and the abattoir, the other animal went live to the slaughterhouse and was killed and butchered there.

Farm slaughtered meat is only for own consumption and cannot be sold. I understood this was why it couldn't go to a butchers and risk being accidentally confused with meat properly slaughtered with a health mark.

If there is an above board way around this I too would be interested to know.

Re: Getting confused - home/private cattle slaughter

Anthony Dennison — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:15:02 GMT

Don't quote me on this, but once it is killed it becomes an animal by product, which has regulations on who can transport it and when. How old is the cow? There'll be the question of SRM or other Category 1 by-products that would need to be disposed of correctly etc.

I'd ring your local AHVLA office. If you're in the South East, you may be directed towards my Dad. Don't let him talk for too long, or you'll be trapped!