According to experts, the new rules for the slaughter of animals provide some exemptions for family-operated farms. “Previously, slaughter had to be carried out at meat processing plants, but now the procedure has been simplified and special facilities have been designated for this purpose,” officials of Ulianovsk Regional Veterinary Agency explained. Nina Pelevina, the head of the Agency, joined the working group.
However, the experts pointed out the need for a more professional approach to veterinary checks, arising from these measures.
Nina Pelevina proposed strengthening the system of veterinary-sanitary inspection of products resulting from slaughtering. “One of the strengthening conditions is laboratory accreditation, aiming at higher professionalism in veterinary-sanitary examination of products originating from family farms, which will allow for its sales both in open markets and retail stores,” the veterinary service said in a statement.
Reminder: the new veterinary rules set a resting time before slaughter – 15 hours for cattle, sheep, goats, deer and camels, 10 hours for pigs, 24 hours for horses, mules and donkeys, 5 hours for rabbits and nutria, up to 12 hours for birds.
All animals must be inspected at an ante-mortem by a veterinarian. In case any disease is revealed in an animal, its movement from the slaughterhouse is prohibited. In that case, the entire batch of livestock is placed under quarantine. Injured animals are slaughtered as soon as possible.
Livestock is handled using the most humane ways, preventing animals from facing unnecessary stress and protecting animal welfare at slaughter, the document goes.
All animals are subject to post-mortem veterinary inspection, ensuring its safety. The sampling and examination procedures as well as the time of inspection are set out by the rules.
The rules don’t apply to meat products meant for personal consumption.
The document comes into force on September 1, 2022, except for the provisions related to the slaughter of poultry, which take effect on March 1, 2023.
