Wallonia is gradually moving closer to authorising on-farm slaughter, Walloon Animal Welfare Minister Céline Tellier told a committee of the Walloon parliament on Tuesday.
For the minister, the practice “offers many advantages, starting with animal welfare, since by avoiding transporting an animal, we reduce its stress and suffering.”
“Slaughter is also the ‘weak link’ in short circuits. It is important to encourage this practice, to enable farmers to take back control of this important stage,” she added as she was questioned on the subject by Green MP Anne Kelleter.
On the ground, two studies have been funded, in collaboration with Agriculture Minister Willy Borsus, to analyse the ways in which on-farm slaughter could become a reality in Wallonia. Conducted by the University of Liège, they concluded that eating meat from cattle slaughtered on farms would not present any increased risks to human health. “However, this needs to be confirmed by new swabbing results carried out during heatwave periods,” said Céline Tellier.
“My administration and the research team have had constructive discussions with the federal agency for the safety of the food chain, FASFC, to discuss a revision of the circular imposing a 45-minute delay between bleeding and evisceration. In view of these encouraging results, a new research agreement is being considered for a pilot project on on-farm slaughtering in Wallonia, between the Walloon Region and the University of Liège research team,” she continued.
“I am delighted, at the end of these studies, to be moving on to a more practical phase. We are gradually moving closer to a long-standing, legitimate demand from farmers to improve the welfare of their animals, including during the delicate stage of slaughter,” the minister concluded.
