Farm Transparency Project activists in the Benalla abattoir. Source – Farm Transparency Project, Facebook.

A CALL for mandatory video surveillance in meat processing plants has been rejected by peak processor body the Australian Meat Industry Council.

Following an ABC 7.30 Report on legal gas stunning of pigs and a break-in by animal activists at a Benalla abattoir this week, a group of animal rights bodies has called for mandatory closed circuit television or CCTV systems in all Australian abattoirs.

The Australian Alliance for Animals today released its open letter to AMIC and Australian Pork Limited calling for their support for mandatory use of CCTV in abattoirs, as part of the ongoing review of the national Standards and Guidelines for the Welfare of Animals at Slaughter Establishments.

AMIC has responded that while it supports the voluntary installation of CCTV systems as a management tool, it does not support it as a mandatory requirement.

“AMIC supports the voluntary installation of CCTV as an individual plant management tool to monitor animal welfare practices, but good animal welfare outcomes are sustained via the implementation of well-defined Standard Operating Procedures, undertaken by highly trained staff in our members’ facilities.

“Such procedures and assurances of staff competency form the foundation of AMIC’s independently audited and widely adopted Industry Animal Welfare Certification System (AAWCS),” the peak body said in a statement.

“The implementation of CCTV will never replace these important competency and procedural principles.

“In addition to the lack of evidence that CCTV in processing facilities results in better animal welfare outcomes, AMIC does not support mandatory CCTV due to a wide array of concerns, including privacy, cyber security, potential misrepresentation, misuse of footage in case of a data breach, and added cost imposed on industry and regulators,” AMIC said.

AMIC said that over the last eighteen months, it has engaged in good faith with government and animal welfare groups to develop the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Livestock Processing Establishments – a national standard to consistently regulate animal welfare at the processing establishments across all the state and territory jurisdictions.

“Industry continues to support this process, which is based on the latest science and global best practice, as the means to achieve animal welfare regulatory reform.

“It is disappointing to see welfare groups bypassing this process to take advantage of recent media covering trespass breaches by animal rights extremists,” AMIC said.

“Well-designed standards and regulations proactively address the core causes of rare animal welfare incidents.

“AMIC and our membership consider animal welfare to be vital in the sustainable operation of processing establishments and we are committed to proper, stringent, and accountable animal welfare practices across the supply chain.”

CCTV should be rolled out nationally – Alliance for Animals

Alliance for Animals policy director Dr Jed Goodfellow said it was time the industry showed the Australian public that it was as committed to animal welfare and transparency as it claims.

“We hear a lot from meat and livestock industry groups about how committed they are to transparency.

“Introducing CCTV as a regulatory requirement with third-party monitoring would be a very real and practical way for them demonstrate that commitment to the Australian community,” he said.

“Australians care deeply about the welfare of animals and they want assurances that animals are being treated humanely.

“Each year over 5 million pigs, 9 million cattle, 28 million sheep and 700 million chickens are slaughtered in Australian abattoirs, so the potential benefits of using CCTV to reduce the risk of poor handling and inhumane killing are significant,” Dr Goodfellow said.

The alliance said the United Kingdom, Israel, Spain and several local jurisdictions in Europe have recently implemented CCTV systems and it is also a regulatory requirement in Queensland for facilities that slaughter horses.

Dr Goodfellow said it was time for CCTV to be rolled out nationally as a regulatory requirement in all facilities that slaughter animals.

“This is a reasonable, common-sense measure that would help improve standards at abattoirs and give the Australian community greater confidence that the welfare of animals is being monitored.”