An abattoir has been fined almost £7,000 for breaching EU regulations about the welfare of animals before they’re killed after leaving a number of sheep “severely dehydrated” due to lack of drinking water.
A hearing at Stockport Magistrates Court heard Manchester Abattoir Limited had caused injury and severe dehydration to sheep waiting to be slaughtered on two occasions in May 2021. The Stockport-based firm had put 54 sheep into a pen designed to hold 40, causing injury to four sheep who needed an “emergency slaughter” after their injuries were discovered on May 11, 2021.
A few days later, on May 16, a drinking trough in a pen holding 78 sheep was discovered to be empty. Staff were unable to tell how long the sheep had been without water.
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The case, brought by CPS prosecutor David Holland on behalf of the Food Standards Agency, was based on the evidence of the firm’s vet, who was present during both incidents to assess the animals, and claimed the sheep were acting in a way consistent with “severe dehydration”, crowding around the trough and standing on top of each other to reach the fresh water when the drinking supply was restored. Mr Holland told the court: “There are two types of offending here, one is the overstocking of pens resulting in discomfort and injury to some of the animals and the other is a failure to provide water.”
However, Nathan Goldstein, defending, told the court that it was unlikely the sheep had been without water for very long as one of the members of staff would have noticed the empty trough. He told the court that both of the events were a “one-off incident that arose due to unusual circumstances”, and the firm had put processes into place to ensure they didn’t happen again.
According to Mr Goldstein, the sheep had been put into a smaller pen when they arrived at the abattoir after the gate on the pen they were supposed to be housed in broke earlier that morning, with staff now being told to refuse to take the animals if there are any similar issues in the future.
He also said the water troughs worked in a cistern system, automatically filling up when the animals had drunk from the containers, and that this system could encounter a fault if sheep stuck their heads too far into the water - pushing the float too far into the cistern and blocking the water. Metal grilles have now been installed to stop animals from doing this.
Mr Goldstein added: “There is daily engagement with the official vet who is on site, it’s not a case of the abattoir’s left to its own devices. When they started this plant in 2019 they spent a lot of money, around £1m, in equipment to make sure their processes were up to scratch. Their procedure at the time was evidently lacking but they’re taken steps to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
Manchester Abattoir Limited pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening provisions of EU Regulation relating to pain, distress, and suffering at the time of killing an animal under Article 3 - which states animals must be housed and provided with appropriate food, water, and care.
Manchester Abattoir Limited director Naweed Alam, was not in court for the hearing, but his wife Kiran, a manager at the site, was. Justice Rachel Medcalf, chair of the bench, ordered the firm pay 0.25% of the estimated £1.98m turnover the firm will generate this year - calculated from the £1.65m it had made up till February.
Addressing the court as she handed down the fine of £6,700, after a 33% credit for an early guilty plea, Mrs Medcalf said: “We were very concerned about everything that we’ve heard today. These were separate offences in quite close proximity to each other and the level of dehydration and the obvious distress that the animals were in were aggravating factors.
“We’re also disappointed that today the directors did not attend court to hear the outcome of these proceedings. We are reassured that some steps have been taken but we were very concerned that this has happened on two occasions and want this to be addressed.” The firm will also need to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £190.
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