France passes bill ordering CCTV in slaughterhouses
France has passed a bill ordering slaughterhouses to install CCTV cameras, to tackle lawbreaking in the nation’s abattoirs.
The new bill requires slaughterhouses to install CCTV cameras across all areas, including in lairages and on the killing floor, by 2018.
A trial will take place this year to inform how the technology will be rolled out across the board. Those caught inflicting unlawful cruelty on animals will face one year in prison.
In response, Animal Aid – a UK animal protection organisation – is calling on George Eustice MP, Minister for DEFRA, to bring forward similar measures in the UK.
The organisation claims to have uncovered unlawful practices in UK slaughterhouses, and wishes to ensure that the use of independently-monitored CCTV becomes mandatory in abattoirs.
Farming and slaughter campaigns manager, Luke Steele, asked: “If the French National Assembly can make CCTV mandatory, then why can the UK Parliament not do the same?
“We today call on George Eustice MP to recognise the vital need to implement this important tool and bring forward a change in the law.”
The Food Standards Agency, alongside a cross-party representation of more than 200 MPs and the British Veterinary Association (BVA), now reportedly support mandatory CCTV.
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