Abattoir sentenced for breaching the law on the treatment of animals

An abattoir in the Midlands has been fined for breaching the law around the treatment of animals.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that the treatment of lambs, sheep and cattle at Leansale Limited on Stratford Road in Birmingham broke the law by causing avoidable pain, distress or suffering.

The company operates under the name of Roopyal Laham Halaal Butchers. The dates of the offences were 18 November 2021, 13 January 2022 and 23 January 2022. 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) investigated the company, on behalf of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) following a referral on 31 January 2022. The file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision on 31 August 2022.

A vet working for the FSA at the premises was told that a lamb had escaped but the reports and explanations given to him were contradictory. He asked to see CCTV from the plant.

By law, slaughterhouses must keep CCTV footage of their processes for 90 days which can then be accessed by officers from the FSA. When the footage was examined, several offences were identified around the handling of cattle and sheep during and following their unloading at the premises and were referred to investigation officers from the FSA. 

The offences included:

• Overcrowding of animals in holding pens;
• failure to provide drinking water to animals held for an extended period;
• some of the areas where the animals were kept were unsafe;
• failure to respond appropriately to the unloading of a lame animal and;
• grabbing and dragging a sheep across the back yard by its fleece and horns.

The FSA gathered the evidence and passed it to the Crown Prosecution Service who authorised a number of charges against the company under the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015.

Guilty pleas to a range of offences were entered at a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 17 February 2023.  At the same court on 22 May 2023, magistrates fined the company £10,000, and they must pay costs of £500 and a surcharge of £190.

The case was prosecuted by a unit in CPS Mersey-Cheshire which deals with offences against animals across a wide geographical area.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Maqsood Khan, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “The treatment of animals in the lead up to their slaughter by Leansale Limited did not meet the standards set out in the law.

“The legislation around the slaughter of animals is strict and precise and the processes at slaughterhouses are monitored closely by the Food Standards Agency.

“They gathered conclusive evidence of mistreatment of animals and the CPS authorised charges, brought the case to court and the company pleaded guilty.

“The CPS would like to thank the FSA for their help in bringing this case and we hope it highlights the importance of the humane treatment of animals in our food production.”

A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency said: “We welcome the successful outcome of this case which should act as a deterrent to others. The FSA has a zero tolerance approach to animal welfare breaches.

"We monitor standards of animal welfare and all staff are instructed to take prompt enforcement action where breaches are identified. We’re working with partner agencies and industry to continuously improve animal welfare.”