The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE 1 General conditions under which farmed animals must be kept

Staffing

1.  Animals must be cared for by a sufficient number of staff who possess the appropriate ability, knowledge and professional competence.

Inspection

2.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), animals kept in husbandry systems in which their welfare depends on frequent human attention must be thoroughly inspected at least once a day to check that they are in a state of well-being.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), animals kept in husbandry systems in which their welfare does not depend on frequent human attention must be inspected at intervals sufficient to avoid any suffering.

(3) In the following cases it is sufficient for the purposes of this paragraph to comply with the following provisions—

(a) in the case of laying hens, paragraph 1 of Schedule 5;

(b) in the case of calves, paragraph 2 or 3 of Schedule 6; and

(c) in the case of pigs, paragraph 2 of Schedule 8.

3.  Where animals are kept in a building, adequate lighting (whether fixed or portable) must be available to enable them to be thoroughly inspected at any time.

4.  Where any animals (other than poultry) are kept in a building they must be kept on, or have access at all times to, a lying area which either has well-maintained dry bedding or is well-drained.

5.  Any animals which appear to be ill or injured must be cared for appropriately and without delay; where they do not respond to such care, veterinary advice must be obtained as soon as possible.

6.  Where necessary, sick or injured animals must be isolated in suitable accommodation with, where appropriate, dry comfortable bedding.

Record keeping

7.  A record must be maintained of—

(a) any medicinal treatment given to animals; and

(b) the number of mortalities found on each inspection of animals carried out in accordance with any of the following provisions—

(i) in the case of laying hens, paragraph 1 of Schedule 5;

(ii) in the case of calves, paragraph 2 or 3 of Schedule 6; or

(iii) in the case of pigs, paragraph 2 of Schedule 8; or

(iv) in any other case, paragraph 2(1) or (2) of this Schedule.

8.  The record referred to in paragraph 7 must be retained for a period of at least three years from the date on which the medicinal treatment was given, or the date of the inspection, and must be made available to an inspector on request.

Freedom of movement

9.  The freedom of movement of animals, having regard to their species and in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge, must not be restricted in such a way as to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.

10.  Where animals are continuously or regularly tethered or confined, they must be given the space appropriate to their physiological and ethological needs in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge.

Buildings and accommodation

11.  Materials used for the construction of accommodation, and in particular for the construction of pens, cages, stalls and equipment with which the animals may come into contact, must not be harmful to them and must be capable of being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

12.  Accommodation and fittings for securing animals must be constructed and maintained so that there are no sharp edges or protrusions likely to cause injury to them.

13.  Air circulation, dust levels, temperature, relative air humidity and gas concentrations must be kept within limits which are not harmful to the animals.

14.  Animals kept in buildings must not be kept in permanent darkness.

15.  Where the natural light available in a building is insufficient to meet the physiological or ethological needs of any animals being kept in it, appropriate artificial lighting must be provided.

16.  Animals kept in buildings must not be kept without an appropriate period of rest from artificial lighting.

Animals not kept in buildings

17.  Animals not kept in buildings must, where necessary and possible, be given protection from adverse weather conditions, predators and risks to their health and must, at all times, have access to a well-drained lying area.

Automatic or mechanical equipment

18.  All automated or mechanical equipment essential for the health and well-being of the animals must be inspected at least once a day to check that there is no defect in it.

19.  Where defects in automated or mechanical equipment of the type referred to in paragraph 18 are discovered, these must be rectified immediately or, if this is impossible, appropriate steps must be taken to safeguard the health and well-being of the animals pending the rectification of those defects including the use of alternative methods of feeding and watering and methods of providing and maintaining a satisfactory environment.

20.  Where the health and well-being of the animals is dependent on an artificial ventilation system—

(a) provision must be made for an appropriate back-up system to guarantee sufficient air renewal to preserve the health and well-being of the animals in the event of failure of the system; and

(b) an alarm system (which will operate even if the principal electricity supply to it has failed) must be provided to give warning of any failure of the system.

21.  The back-up system referred to in paragraph 20(a) must be thoroughly inspected and the alarm system referred to in paragraph 20(b) tested at least once every seven days in order to check that there is no defect, and, if any defect is found at any time, it must be rectified immediately.

Feed, water and other substances

22.  Animals must be fed a wholesome diet which is appropriate to their age and species and which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health, to satisfy their nutritional needs and to promote a positive state of well-being.

23.  Animals must not be provided with food or liquid that contains any substance that may cause them unnecessary suffering or injury and must be provided with food and liquid in a manner that does not cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.

24.  All animals must have access to feed at intervals appropriate to their physiological needs (and, in any case, at least once a day), except where a veterinary surgeon acting in the exercise of his profession otherwise directs.

25.  All animals must either have access to a suitable water supply and be provided with an adequate supply of fresh drinking water each day, or be able to satisfy their fluid intake needs by other means.

26.  Feeding and watering equipment must be designed, constructed, placed and maintained so that contamination of food or water and the harmful effects of competition between animals are minimised.

27.—(1) — No other substance, with the exception of those given for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes or for the purpose of zootechnical treatment, may be administered to animals unless it has been demonstrated by scientific studies of animal welfare or established practice that the effect of that substance is not detrimental to the health or welfare of the animals.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1), “zootechnical treatment” has the meaning given in Article 1(2)(c) of Directive 96/22/EEC(1) concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and of beta-agonists.

Breeding procedures

28.—(1) — Natural or artificial breeding or breeding procedures which cause, or are likely to cause, suffering or injury to any of the animals concerned, must not be practised.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not preclude the use of natural or artificial breeding procedures that are likely to cause minimal or momentary suffering or injury or that might necessitate interventions which would not cause lasting injury.

29.  Animals may only be kept for farming purposes if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without any detrimental effect on their health or welfare.

Electrical immobilisation

30.  An electrical current must not be applied to an animal for the purpose of immobilisation.

(1)

OJ No L125, 23.5.96, p 3