Overview - Overview

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United Kingdom

Pork

Chicken

Poultry

Dairy cow

Dairy

Egg laying hen

Beef

Castration of a dairy calf using a rubber band

United Kingdom Slaughter Statistics – November 2020 

The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations

Calves genitals are severed to make their flesh tenderer and to simplify management

Genital Mutilations

An arial view of cows in a feedlot

Revealed: industrial-scale beef farming comes to the UK

Cows and bulls are kept in barren pens where they are fattened in the months and weeks leading up to being killed

Feedlots

Beef - Feedlots

A farmer performing an ear mutilation on a cow

The Cattle Identification Regulations

Calves ears are pierced or chunks are removed as a method of identification

Ear Mutilations

Dairy - Ear Mutilations

Cows being milked

A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds

Cows selectively bred to produce seven times their natural milk output leading to a variety of health problems

Unnatural Milk Output

Dairy - Unnatural Milk Output

A pig getting their ear tagged

Pig keepers: identify animals before moving them

The Pigs (Records, Identification and Movement) Order

Piglets ears are tagged or tattooed as a method of identification 

Pork - Ear Mutilations

Pigs in CO2 gas chamber

Farm animals: survey of slaughter methods 2018

Review: Potential alternatives to high-concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs at slaughter

Red meat slaughterhouses: restraining, stunning, killing animals

Pigs are killed using high carbon dioxide concentrations that are known to cause pain, fear and distress

Painful Deaths

Pork - Gas Chamber

Indoor reared pigs

Pig Farming in the UK - Farrowing Systems

After weaning pigs spend their entire lives indoors to be fattened for slaughter

Indoor Rearing

Pork - Indoor Rearing

Pig in farrowing crate

More pigs have been weaned per sow per year

Sow culling

Mother pigs are repeatedly impregnated and killed once their piglet production declines

Repeated Pregnancy Cycles

Pork - Repeated Pregnancy Cycles

Ducks in an intensive shed

 Page 1 An Overview of the UK Duck IndustryAHVLA 110 AHW R9

 Page 1 An Overview of the UK Duck IndustryAHVLA 110 AHW R9 (Cached copy)

Ducks (mallard and Pekin): welfare recommendations

Semiaquatic ducks with no access to surface water are unable to express their natural behaviours

No Water Access

Poultry - No Water Access

Egg laying hens in a cage

United Kingdom egg statistics: Quarter 2 2021

The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations

Hens spend their entire lives in small cages with minimal movement and stimulation

Confined Cages

Eggs - Caged

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Free range hens outdoor access is limited or poor quality

Poor Outdoor Access

Eggs - Outdoor Access

A downer dairy cow being removed from a farm

Third Report - November 2016

Cows die before making it to slaughter due to the toll on their bodies from increased milk production

Early Death

Dairy - Early Death

Cow with shackles

Genetic parameters for production, health, fertility and longevity traits in dairy cows

Cows become susceptible to leg and foot diseases because of inadequate housing and management practices

Lameness

Dairy - Lameness

Cows udders become infected and painful due to the large quantities of milk they are producing

Mastitis 

Dairy - Mastitis

Disbudding a calf

Calves heads are permanently damaged using a hot iron while under local anesthetic to prevent horns from forming

Horn Mutilations

Dairy - Horn Mutilations

Freeze Branding

The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007

Calves hair follicles are permanently damaged using irons cooled to well below zero as a method of identification

Skin Mutilations

Dairy - Skin Mutilations

Cows ears are pierced or chunks are removed as a method of identification

Dairy calves in isolation pens

Naturally social calves are put into small individual pens for up to 8 weeks after birth

Isolation Pens

Dairy - Isolation Pens

Dairy calves drinking milk replacer fluid

Calves are fed milk replacer fluid instead of their mothers milk

Milk Replacer Fluid

Dairy - Milk Replacer

Indoor calves

Male dairy calves raised for veal are prevented from exhibiting their natural behaviours

Male Veal Calves

Dairy - Veal Calves

Discarded male calf

Fifth Report - GB Cattle Health & Welfare Group

Male calves that are deemed not useful to the dairy industry are killed and discarded

Male Calf Culling

Dairy - Male Calf Culling

Dairy calf being seperated from their mother

Calves are removed from their mothers a few hours after birth so that milk collection can start

Mother and Calf Separation

Dairy - Mother and Calf Separation

Calf that has recently been born

Cows are repeatedly impregnated until their milk production declines or they are too exhausted to continue

Dairy - Repeated Pregnancy Cycles

Dairy cow being inseminated

Reproduction in Cattle: Third Edition

The Artificial Insemination of Cattle (Animal Health) (England and Wales) Regulations 1985

Cows are forcibly impregnated by a farmer or vet putting their hand into the anus and injecting sperm into the vagina

Artificial Insemination

Dairy - Artificial Insemination

Hens being transported to slaughter

Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport

Hens are transported during hot temperatures that are known to cause distress and suffering

Unsuitable Transport

Eggs - Unsuitable Transport

A chicken with foot rot

Hens feet are burnt by faeces that build up on uncleaned floors and surfaces

Foot Rot

Eggs - Foot Rot

Dead laying hen in a cage

Levels of mortality in hens by end of lay on farm and in transit to slaughter in Great Britain

Hens die before their allocated 72 weeks of egg production is up

Early Deaths

Eggs - Early Deaths

Laying hen with a cloacal prolapse

Chicken with cloacal prolapse

Comparison of the Welfare of Layer Hens in 4 housing systems in the UK

Hens inner tissues protrude outside of their body due to excessive and large egg production

Vent Prolapses

Eggs - Vent Prolapse

Free range chickens in a shed

Code of practice for the welfare of laying hens and pullets

Hens cannot exhibit their natural "pecking order" behaviour because flock sizes are too large

Unsuitable Flock Size

Eggs - Unsuitable Flock Size

Egg layers with feather loss

Hens lose their feathers due to being pecked, stress, parasites and disease

Feather Loss

Eggs - Feather Loss

Laying hen with keel bone fracture

Keel bone fractures in laying hens: a systematic review of prevalence across age, housing systems, and strains 

Hens bones deteriorate due to the increased rate of egg production leaching calcium from their bodies

Bone Fractures

Eggs - Bone Fractures

Hens in a free range shed

Free range hens are packed into sheds at a rate of up to 13 birds per square meter of space

Unsuitable Shed Density

Eggs - Unsuitable Shed Density

Female chicks being debeaked

Beak Trimming Action Group review

Hens have a portion of their beaks forcibly removed to prevent them pecking each other in confined conditions

Beak Mutilations

Eggs - Beak Mutilations

Chickens in a battery farm

Hens egg yields are dangerously high due to years of selective breeding

Unnatural Egg Output

Eggs - Unnatural Egg Output

Male chicks being blended alive

The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations

Male chicks are killed by gassing or blending because they are not useful to the industry

Male Chick Culling

Eggs - Male Chick Culling

Pig being stunned in a slaughterhouse

The effect of repeat application of electrical stunning on the welfare of pigs

Pigs stunned using electronarcosis regain consciousness after their first stunning

Ineffective Stunning

Pork - Ineffective Stunning

Pig being transported to slaughter

Pigs are transported during hot temperatures that are known to cause distress and suffering

Pork - Unsuitable Transport

Piglet being castrated

Male pigs are castrated to make the taste of their flesh more desirable

Pork - Genital Mutilations

Tooth clipping piglet

Pigs teeth are clipped or ground to prevent injuries that arise due to the low welfare conditions they are raised in

Tooth Mutilations

Pork - Teeth Mutilations

Piglets tail being mutilated

Evidence review and behavioural research involving both farmers and vets to investigate how to promote improved compliance with pig tail docking and environmental enrichment legislation

Piglets tails are removed to prevent injuries that arise due to the low welfare conditions they are raised in

Tail Mutilations

Pork - Tail Mutilations

Sow pig artificial incemination

Artificial Insemination in Pigs

The Artificial Insemination of Pigs (England and Wales) Regulations

Mother pigs are forcibly impregnated with tubes containing semen that are pushed into the cervix

Pork - Artificial Insemination

Piglet thumping

Piglets deemed weak or unprofitable are inflicted with blunt force trauma until they are dead