‘Tell the government how important this is’: Slaughterhouse CCTV campaign gathers momentum
World Horse Welfare’s appeal for mandatory CCTV recording in UK equine slaughterhouses is gathering momentum.
The charity has collected more than 15,000 signatures on its petition to Defra — the first stage of its CCTV campaign.
Now the organisation is pushing for the matter to be debated in parliament.
“We have launched a petition on the parliament website in order that we can ask for a debate on this vital issue, so we need as many people as possible to sign this petition — even if they have already signed the first one — and share with their friends and family too,” said a World Horse Welfare spokesman.
“We will need 10,000 signatures to prompt parliament to respond to our action, but 100,000 signatures could help deliver a full debate in parliament so we really need as much support as possible for the campaign.
“By taking the action, supporters will be letting Westminster know how important they believe it is for the thousands of horses who go to UK slaughterhouses each year to have their welfare monitored throughout by the relevant authorities.
“We’d also like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has already signed our petition and supported the campaign.”
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The charity urges the public to continue signing the Defra petition as well as the newer parliament one.
‘No confidence’
World Horse Welfare launched the appeal after finding that almost three-quarters of the more than 900 owners asked would not have confidence that horses’ welfare would be protected throughout the slaughter process.
“We fully understand this is a very difficult subject many owners will prefer not to consider, but we firmly believe that equine slaughterhouses must remain an option,” said World Horse Welfare chief executive, Roly Owers.
Other methods of ending a horse’s life can prove to be “prohibitively expensive”, according to the charity, and the consequences can mean a horse is left to deteriorate, presenting a “much more inhumane alternative”.
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“There is very good regulation for protecting animal welfare at slaughterhouses, but there is little transparency in the process,” added Mr Owers.
Click here to sign the parliament petition.
Click here to sign the DEFRA petition
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.