72% want information on stunning of animals when buying meat, says EU-wide study

The British Veterinary Association has called today on the European Commission to back proposals to introduce labelling of non-stun slaughtered meat after a study of 13,500 meat consumers across 27 EU Member States found 72% want information of stunning of animals when buying meat.

The survey was commissioned in July 2011 to assess the public’s appetite for labelling after European Parliament proposals to include labelling of non-stun slaughtered meat in Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (July 2011) were withdrawn in order to achieve consensus.

Commenting, John Blackwell, BVA President, said: 

“This EU-wide report confirms that consumers are interested in the provenance of their meat and meat products with a clear majority (72%) saying they are interested in receiving information about the stunning of animals.

“The long-awaited release of this report gives renewed vigour to the BVA’s campaign for better consumer information on animal welfare at slaughter and the need for meat from non-stun slaughter to be clearly labelled.” 

In response to the report’s findings that animal welfare is not listed as a priority issue for consumers when asked an unprompted question about purchase criteria, and that information on pre-stunning is only of interest when the issue is brought to the attention of consumers, Mr Blackwell added:

“As the report states, EU consumers already expect certain standards to be adhered to. That means that there is already a high expectation that European standards on animal welfare will be applied to all products.

“Non-stun slaughter is only permitted through a derogation from EU-wide legislation so consumers expect their meat has been killed in accordance with the law, which clearly states that all animals should be stunned prior to slaughter to ensure their welfare is not compromised. That is why BVA remains absolutely clear that better and clearer consumer information is essential. Ultimately, transparency is vital to maintain confidence in the food chain.”

“In addition, the recent Voice of the Veterinary Profession 2015 Spring survey showed that requiring all animals be stunned before slaughter, or improving welfare at slaughter was UK vets top priority for Government.”

Notes to editors:

The full report can bew viewed – the "Study on information to consumers on the stunning of animals (PDF)"

Selected key quotes from the summary report:

• The absence of apparent widespread demand for information as a purchase criterion does not, however, preclude the possibility that consumers expect certain standards to be adhered to for all products (as reflected to an extent by the proportion of survey respondents who believed there are laws covering slaughter, see below).
  
  
• Survey respondents were also asked directly whether they would be interested in receiving information on the stunning of animals at slaughter when they buy meat. This direct enquiry elicited greater interest with 72% of respondents indicating interest to varying degrees (18% “very interested”, 27% “quite interested” and 27% “a little interested”).
  
  
• Our conclusion is that for most consumers information on pre-slaughter stunning is not an important issue unless brought to their attention.
  
  
• Our clear conclusion is that there is little accurate consumer understanding of the slaughter process.

1. BVA’s campaign to end non-stun slaughter was launched because scientific evidence shows that slaughter without pre-stunning allows animals to feel pain and compromises animal welfare. This scientific evidence includes the EU-funded Dialrel project that ran for four years between 2006 and 2010 and that concluded “It can be stated with high probability that animals feel pain during and after the throat cut without prior stunning.” It is a position supported by the Humane Slaughter Association, the Farm Animal Welfare Council, and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe.
   
   
2. BVA notes that more than 80% of Halal meat is stunned before slaughter. BVA’s concern does not relate to religious belief but to the animal welfare compromise of non-stun slaughter.
   
   
3. For more information please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected].