CCTV is now a compulsory legal condition in all abattoirs

Abattoirs in England are now required to have CCTV as part of the law to monitor animal welfare. Businesses will have six months to comply with this new Legislation from May 2018.

Official veterinarians will have unrestricted access to the last 90 days of footage to reassure consumers that high welfare standards are given to the animals throughout their time in the slaughter house. From a technological point of view, the longer retention period means there is a need for CCTV IP networked recording, monitoring and video search technologies that are of necessary standard.

All slaughterhouses will be required to comply in full by November 5th2018. If breaches are found, a slaughterhouse can be given a welfare enforcement notice, have its staff’s licences suspended or revoked, or be refereed for a criminal investigation.

The new law states that surveillance must be applied to all areas of the premises where livestock are held. If this covers multiple buildings, abattoirs may require more intricate systems than others.

This new legislation will allow businesses to protect themselves and their reputations from staff who may be mis-handling animals. Implementing CCTV will allow the monitoring and tracking of incidents and problems.

CCTV footage which enables individuals at the slaughterhouses to be identified will be in scope of the new GDPR act which has come into effect today – this regulation will also have to be monitored when installing CCTV systems at the business location.

Watch Systems Limited can deliver an integrated CCTV solution that not only can provide surveillance in all areas that are needed but also provide monitoring solutions to help you monitor your staff. Watch Systems Limited will include a consultation & training to ensure the compliance in all legislations and regulations.