Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing (Text with EEA relevance)

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

However as regards fish, only the requirements laid down in Article 3(1) shall apply.

This Regulation shall not apply:

(a) where animals are killed: (i) during scientific experiments carried out under the supervision of a competent authority; (ii) during hunting or recreational fishing activities; (iii) during cultural or sporting events;

(b) to poultry, rabbits and hares slaughtered outside of a slaughterhouse by their owner for his/her private domestic consumption.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘killing’ means any intentionally induced process which causes the death of an animal;

(b) ‘related operations’ means operations such as handling, lairaging, restraining, stunning and bleeding of animals taking place in the context and at the location where they are to be killed;

(c) ‘animal’ means any vertebrate animal, excluding reptiles and amphibians;

(d) ‘emergency killing’ means the killing of animals which are injured or have a disease associated with severe pain or suffering and where there is no other practical possibility to alleviate this pain or suffering;

(e) ‘lairaging’ means keeping animals in stalls, pens, covered areas or fields associated with or part of slaughterhouse operations;

(f) ‘stunning’ means any intentionally induced process which causes loss of consciousness and sensibility without pain, including any process resulting in instantaneous death;

(g) ‘religious rite’ means a series of acts related to the slaughter of animals and prescribed by a religion;

(h) ‘cultural or sporting events’ means events which are essentially and predominantly related to long established cultural traditions or sporting activities, including racing or other forms of competitions, where there is no production of meat or other animal products or where that production is marginal compared to the event as such and not economically significant;

(i) ‘standard operating procedures’ means a set of written instructions aimed at achieving uniformity of the performance of a specific function or standard;

(j) ‘slaughtering’ means the killing of animals intended for human consumption;

(k) ‘slaughterhouse’ means any establishment used for slaughtering terrestrial animals which falls within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;

(l) ‘business operator’ means any natural or legal person having under its control an undertaking carrying out the killing of animals or any related operations falling within the scope of this Regulation;

(m) ‘fur animals’ means animals of the mammal species primarily reared for the production of fur such as minks, polecats, foxes, raccoons, coypu and chinchillas;

(n) ‘depopulation’ means the process of killing animals for public health, animal health, animal welfare or environmental reasons under the supervision of the competent authority;

(o) ‘poultry’ means farmed birds, including birds that are not considered to be domestic birds but which are farmed as domestic animals, with the exception of ratites;

(p) ‘restraint’ means the application to an animal of any procedure designed to restrict its movements sparing any avoidable pain, fear or agitation in order to facilitate effective stunning and killing;

(q) ‘competent authorities’ means competent authorities as defined in point (3) of Article 3 of Regulation  (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹);

(r) ‘pithing’ means the laceration of the central nervous tissue and spinal cord by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument introduced into the cranial cavity.

CHAPTER II

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Article 3

General requirements for killing and related operations

For the purposes of paragraph 1, business operators shall, in particular, take the necessary measures to ensure that animals:

(a) are provided with physical comfort and protection, in particular by being kept clean in adequate thermal conditions and prevented from falling or slipping;

(b) are protected from injury;

(c) are handled and housed taking into consideration their normal behaviour;

(d) do not show signs of avoidable pain or fear or exhibit abnormal behaviour;

(e) do not suffer from prolonged withdrawal of feed or water;

(f) are prevented from avoidable interaction with other animals that could harm their welfare.

Article 4

Stunning methods

The methods referred to in Annex I which do not result in instantaneous death (hereinafter referred to as simple stunning) shall be followed as quickly as possible by a procedure ensuring death such as bleeding, pithing, electrocution or prolonged exposure to anoxia.

Any such amendments shall ensure a level of animal welfare at least equivalent to that ensured by the existing methods.

Article 5

Checks on stunning

Those checks shall be carried out on a sufficiently representative sample of animals and their frequency shall be established taking into account the outcome of previous checks and any factors which may affect the efficiency of the stunning process.

When the outcome of the checks indicates that an animal is not properly stunned, the person in charge of stunning shall immediately take the appropriate measures as specified in the standard operating procedures drawn up in accordance with Article 6(2).

Article 6

Standard operating procedures

As regards stunning, the standard operating procedures shall:

(a) take into account the manufacturers’ recommendations;

(b) define for each stunning method used, on the basis of available scientific evidence, the key parameters set out in Chapter I of Annex I ensuring their effectiveness to stun the animals;

(c) specify the measures to be taken when the checks referred to in Article 5 indicate that an animal is not properly stunned or, in the case of animals slaughtered in accordance with Article 4(4), that the animal still presents signs of life.

Article 7

Level and certificate of competence

Business operators shall ensure that the following slaughter operations are only carried out by persons holding a certificate of competence for such operations, as provided for in Article 21, demonstrating their ability to carry them out in accordance with the rules laid down in this Regulation:

(a) the handling and care of animals before they are restrained;

(b) the restraint of animals for the purpose of stunning or killing;

(c) the stunning of animals;

(d) the assessment of effective stunning;

(e) the shackling or hoisting of live animals;

(f) the bleeding of live animals;

(g) the slaughtering in accordance with Article 4(4).

Article 8

Instructions for the use of restraining and stunning equipment

Products marketed or advertised as restraining or stunning equipment shall only be sold when accompanied by appropriate instructions concerning their use in a manner which ensures optimal conditions for the welfare of animals. Those instructions shall also be made publicly available by the manufacturers via the Internet.

Those instructions shall in particular specify:

(a) the species, categories, quantities and/or weights of animals for which the equipment is intended to be used;

(b) the recommended parameters corresponding to the different circumstances of use, including the key parameters set out in Chapter I of Annex I;

(c) for stunning equipment, a method for monitoring the efficiency of the equipment as regards compliance with the rules laid down in this Regulation;

(d) the recommendations for maintenance and, where necessary, calibration of the stunning equipment.

Article 9

Use of restraining and stunning equipment

Business operators shall draw up a record of maintenance. They shall keep those records for at least one year and shall make them available to the competent authority upon request.

Article 10

Private domestic consumption

Only the requirements of Articles 3(1), 4 (1) and 7(1) shall apply to the slaughtering of animals, other than poultry, rabbits and hares, and the related operations outside of a slaughterhouse by their owner or by a person under the responsibility and supervision of the owner, for private domestic consumption.

However, also the requirements laid down in Article 15(3) and in points 1.8 to 1.11, 3.1 and, in as far as it refers to simple stunning, point 3.2 of Annex III shall apply to the slaughtering of animals, other than poultry, rabbits, hares, pigs, sheep and goats, outside of a slaughterhouse by their owner or by a person under the responsibility and supervision of the owner for private domestic consumption.

Article 11

Direct supply of small quantities of poultry, rabbits and hares

Article 12

Imports from third countries

The requirements laid down in Chapters II and III of this Regulation shall apply for the purposes of Article 12(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004.

The health certificate accompanying meat imported from third countries shall be supplemented by an attestation certifying that requirements at least equivalent to those laid down in Chapters II and III of this Regulation have been met.

Article 13

Development and dissemination of guides to good practice

When such guides to good practice are drawn up, they shall be developed and disseminated by organisations of business operators:

(a) in consultation with representatives of non governmental organisations, competent authorities and other interested parties;

(b) having regard to scientific opinions as referred to in Article 20(1)(c).

CHAPTER III

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO SLAUGHTERHOUSES

Article 14

Layout, construction and equipment of slaughterhouses

For the purposes of this Regulation, business operators shall, when requested, submit to the competent authority referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 for each slaughterhouse at least the following:

(a) the maximum number of animals per hour for each slaughter line;

(b) the categories of animals and weights for which the restraining or stunning equipment available may be used;

(c) the maximum capacity for each lairage area.

The competent authority shall assess the information submitted by the operator in accordance with the first subparagraph when approving the slaughterhouse.

The following may be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2):

(a) derogations from the rules set out in Annex II for mobile slaughterhouses;

(b) amendments necessary to adapt Annex II to take account of scientific and technical progress.

Pending the adoption of derogations referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, the Member States may establish or maintain national rules applying to mobile slaughterhouses.

Article 15

Handling and restraining operations at slaughterhouses

Systems restraining bovine animals by inversion or any unnatural position shall not be used except in the case of animals slaughtered in accordance with Article 4(4) and provided that they are fitted with a device that restricts both the lateral and vertical movement of the head of the animal and are adjustable to be adapted to the size of the animal.

The following methods of restraint shall be prohibited:

(a) suspending or hoisting conscious animals;

(b) mechanical clamping or tying of the legs or feet of animals;

(c) severing the spinal cord, such as by the use of a puntilla or dagger;

(d) the use of electric currents to immobilise the animal that do not stun or kill it under controlled circumstances, in particular, any electric current application that does not span the brain.

However, points (a) and (b) shall not apply to the shackles used for poultry.

Article 16

Monitoring procedures at slaughterhouses

The monitoring procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall describe the way the checks referred to in Article 5 have to be carried out and shall include at least the following:

(a) the name of the persons responsible for the monitoring procedure;

(b) indicators designed to detect signs of unconsciousness and consciousness or sensibility in the animals; indicators designed to detect the absence of signs of life in the animals slaughtered in accordance with Article 4(4);

(c) criteria for determining whether the results shown by the indicators referred to in point (b) are satisfactory;

(d) the circumstances and/or the time when the monitoring must take place;

(e) the number of animals in each sample to be checked during the monitoring;

(f) appropriate procedures to ensure that in the event that the criteria referred to in point (c) are not met, the stunning or killing operations are reviewed in order to identify the causes of any shortcomings and the necessary changes to be made to those operations.

Article 17

Animal welfare officer

For the purpose of the first subparagraph, ‘livestock unit’ means a standard measurement unit that allows the aggregation of the various categories of livestock in order to enable them to be compared.

When applying the first subparagraph, Member States shall use the following conversion rates:

(a) adult bovine animals within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (²) and equidae: 1 livestock unit;

(b) other bovine animals: 0,50 livestock unit;

(c) pigs with a live weight of over 100 kg: 0,20 livestock unit;

(d) other pigs: 0,15 livestock unit;

(e) sheep and goats: 0,10 livestock unit;

(f) lambs, kids and piglets of less than 15 kg live weight: 0,05 livestock unit.

CHAPTER IV

DEPOPULATION AND EMERGENCY KILLING

Article 18

Depopulation

In particular, the stunning and killing methods planned and the corresponding standard operating procedures for ensuring compliance with the rules laid down in this Regulation shall be included in the contingency plans required under Community law on animal health, on the basis of the hypothesis established in the contingency plan concerning the size and the location of suspected outbreaks.

The competent authority shall:

(a) ensure that such operations are carried out in accordance with the action plan referred to in paragraph 1;

(b) take any appropriate action to safeguard the welfare of the animals in the best available conditions.

With regards to each depopulation operation, that report shall include, in particular:

(a) the reasons for the depopulation;

(b) the number and the species of animals killed;

(c) the stunning and killing methods used;

(d) a description of the difficulties encountered and, where appropriate, solutions found to alleviate or minimise the suffering of the animals concerned;

(e) any derogation granted in accordance with paragraph 3.

Article 19

Emergency killing

In the case of emergency killing, the keeper of the animals concerned shall take all the necessary measures to kill the animal as soon as possible.

CHAPTER V

COMPETENT AUTHORITY

Article 20

Scientific support

Each Member State shall ensure that sufficient independent scientific support is available to assist the competent authorities, upon their request, by providing:

(a) scientific and technical expertise relating to the approval of slaughterhouses as referred to in Article 14(2) and the development of new stunning methods;

(b) scientific opinions on the instructions provided by manufacturers on the use and maintenance of restraining and stunning equipment;

(c) scientific opinions on guides to good practice developed within its territory for the purposes of this Regulation;

(d) recommendations for the purposes of this Regulation, in particular in relation to inspections and audits;

(e) opinions on the capacity and suitability of separate bodies and entities to fulfil the requirements laid down in Article 21(2).

For this purpose, each Member State shall identify a single contact point and make it publicly available via the Internet. Such contact point shall be responsible for sharing technical and scientific information and best practices regarding the implementation of this Regulation with its counterparts and the Commission.

Article 21

Certificate of competence

For the purposes of Article 7, Member States shall designate the competent authority responsible for:

(a) ensuring that training courses are available for personnel involved in killing and related operations;

(b) delivering certificates of competence attesting the passing of an independent final examination; the subjects of this examination shall be relevant for the categories of animals concerned and correspond to the operations referred to in Article 7(2) and (3), and to the subjects set out in Annex IV;

(c) approving training programmes of the courses referred to in point (a) and the content and modalities of the examination referred in point (b).

The competent authority may delegate the final examination and the issuance of the certificate of competence to a separate body or entity which:

(a) has the expertise, staff and equipment necessary to do so;

(b) is independent and free from any conflict of interest as regards the final examination and the issuance of the certificates of competence.

The competent authority may also delegate the organisation of the training courses to a separate body or entity which has the expertise, staff and equipment necessary to do so.

The details of bodies and entities to which such tasks have been delegated shall be made publicly available by the competent authority via the Internet.

The competent authority may issue temporary certificates of competence provided that:

(a) the applicant is registered in one of the training courses referred to in paragraph 1(a);

(b) the applicant is to work in the presence and under the direct supervision of another person who holds a certificate of competence issued for the specific activity to be undertaken;

(c) the validity of the temporary certificate does not exceed three months; and

(d) the applicant provides a written declaration stating that he/she has not previously been issued another temporary certificate of competence of the same scope or demonstrates to the satisfaction of the competent authority that he/she was unable to take the final examination.

CHAPTER VI

NON-COMPLIANCE, PENALTIES AND IMPLEMENTING POWERS

Article 23

Penalties