Meat industry dismisses calls for mandatory CCTV in Australian abattoirs

Calls from animal rights activists for CCTV cameras to be mandatory in abattoirs nationwide have been rejected by the peak body for Australia’s meat processing sector. Five activist groups including the Australian Alliance for Animals on Thursday penned an open letter to the Australian Meat Industry Council seeking its support for mandatory video surveillance in processing facilities. The letter, which was also addressed to Australian Pork Limited, said Australians wanted assurances animals were being “treated humanely, with respect and compassion”. “It’s time to support mandatory CCTV in slaughter facilities, including inside areas where animals are being stunned, with third-party monitoring,” the letter continues. “The long-term sustainability of your industries depends on it.” It comes after the ABC broadcast footage recently of a break-in by Farm Transparency Project activists at a Victorian pork processing plant as part of a report on the legal gas stunning of pigs. The footage, which shows pigs screaming in pain inside the plant’s gas killing chamber, prompted an investigation by Victoria’s meat regulator, PrimeSafe, which has asked Australian Food Group to install CCTV in its Laverton abattoir. The letter notes that CCTV is a regulatory requirement at abattoirs in the UK, Israel, Spain, and “many other local jurisdictions throughout Europe” and that the Queensland Government recently passed legislation requiring CCTV in horse slaughter facilities. It also calls out APL directly over its recently-launched on-farm virtual tours, which the producer-owned organisation has spruiked as part of a broader strategy to increase transparency and engagement. “It’s time to put those claims to the test,” the letter states. “Making such a commitment would be a real display of transparency in your industries.” APL was contacted for comment. In a statement, an AMIC spokesman said the council supported the voluntary installation of CCTV systems but not as a mandatory requirement. “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, (and) misuse of footage in case of a data breach,” the spokesman said. “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. “Such procedures and assurances of staff competency form the foundation of AMIC’s independently audited and widely adopted Industry Animal Welfare Certification System. “The implementation of CCTV will never replace these important competency and procedural principles.” WAMMCO and Fletchers International, which run abattoirs in WA’s Great Southern, both declined to comment, saying they stood by AMIC’s statement. AAFA — the same group that leaked Labor’s policy to ban live sheep exports two weeks before last year’s Federal election — is calling for mandatory CCTV as part of a review under way of the national Standards and Guidelines for the Welfare of Animals at Slaughter Establishments. The letter was also signed by the heads of Humane Society International Australia, World Animal Protection Australia and New Zealand, FOUR PAWS Australia and Animals Australia. It goes on to claim that CCTV has already been installed in “most” processing facilities and making it a regulatory requirement “would not come at a significant cost”. AMIC dismissed this, with the spokesman saying it would impose added costs on industry and regulators. “Over the last 18 months, AMIC 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 processing establishments across all State and Territory jurisdictions,” the spokesman said. “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.” The spokesman said “animal welfare incidents” in the industry were “rare”.