Undercover footage, aired on television and the internet and appearing to show abuse and neglect of horses at an abattoir in Cheshire has led to an investigation by the Food Standards Agency and two slaughtermen having their licences withdrawn. The video was shot by the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich, which has a record of campaigning against ill-treatment of farm animals.
The Food Standards Agency identified the most serious concerns in the footage as:
• Several occasions of more than one horse in the stun box at the same time
• Excessive use of a stick on a horse
• Hitting a horse with a rope
Under the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995, it is against the law to slaughter horses within sight of one another.