Following on from the Government’s announcement for CCTV to be compulsory in abattoirs across England, we look at what this means for individual businesses.
On 11th August 2017, the Government announced plans to phase in the compulsory installation of CCTV in abattoirs based in England over the next 12 months. Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, said that the proposed regulations would ‘cement the UK’s position as a global leader on animal welfare.’
Whilst a number of abattoirs already have CCTV cameras installed, investigations have found that many use CCTV as a means to monitor and prevent theft rather than to use as a tool for quality and livestock welfare purposes. Under the proposed regulations, CCTV footage would be accessible to Food Standard Agency Official Veterinarians and must cover all areas where livestock are held. It is warned that any breaches could result in a welfare enforcement notice, the suspending or revoking of staff licences, or referral for a criminal investigation.
Having already worked with Lincolnshire-based abattoirs, GBSG Ltd can help analyse current systems and see how they can be extended or developed to comply with proposed regulatory developments. For instance, with the growing adoption of IP CCTV systems additional cameras can easily be added should sites extend or change in the future, helping to keep system development costs to a minimum. In addition, working with individual businesses GBSG Ltd can advise on wider business benefits of obligatory CCTV such as quality control and compliance to Health & Safety.
For more information on IP CCTV click here.
