Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Regulations 9(d) and 14(c)

SCHEDULE 6 Bleeding or Pithing of Animals

1.  In this Schedule “animal” means any soliped, ruminant, pig, rabbit or bird.

2.—(1) The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard shall ensure that any animal that has been stunned before bleeding or pithing is bled or pithed without delay after it has been stunned.

(2) Any person engaged in the bleeding or pithing of any animal which has been stunned shall ensure that the animal is bled or pithed without delay after it has been stunned.

(3) No person shall bleed any bull, cow, heifer, steer, calf, sheep, goat or pig in a slaughterhouse, knacker’s yard or lairage within sight of any other such animal.

(4) Sub-paragraph (3) shall not apply in the case of any such animal which is slaughtered or killed in accordance with paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 (which relates to emergency slaughter and killing).

3.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), any person engaged in the bleeding of any animal that has been stunned shall ensure that—

(a) the bleeding is rapid, profuse and complete;

(b) the bleeding is completed before the animal regains consciousness; and

(c) the bleeding is carried out by severing at least one of the carotid arteries or the vessels from which they arise.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), after severance of at least one of the carotid arteries or the vessels from which they arise of any animal that has been stunned before bleeding, no person shall cause or permit any further dressing procedure or any electrical stimulation to be performed on the animal before the bleeding has ended and in any event not before the expiry of—

(a) in the case of a turkey or goose, a period of not less than 2 minutes;

(b) in the case of any other bird, a period of not less than 90 seconds;

(c) in the case of bovine animals, a period of not less than 30 seconds; and

(d) in the case of sheep, goats, pigs and deer, a period of not less than 20 seconds.

(3) Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to any animal which has been pithed.

4.—(1) Where one person is responsible for the stunning and pithing, or for the stunning, shackling, hoisting and bleeding, of animals other than birds or rabbits, or for some of those operations, such operations must be carried out by him consecutively in respect of one animal before being so carried out by him in respect of another animal.

(2) Where one person is responsible for the stunning and bleeding of birds or rabbits, those operations must be carried out by him consecutively in respect of one bird or rabbit before being so carried out by him in respect of another bird or rabbit.

Manual back up of automatic machinery

5.—(1) The occupier of a slaughterhouse shall ensure that no bird is slaughtered by means of automatic neck cutters unless, whenever the neck cutters are operated, a person is present who is able to ascertain whether or not the neck cutters have effectively severed at least one of the carotid arteries or the vessels from which they arise.

(2) In the event of the machinery not being effective in severing at least one of the carotid arteries or the vessels from which they arise, the occupier of the slaughterhouse in which the neck cutters are situated shall ensure that the bird is slaughtered or killed immediately.