Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Made: 30th March 2012

Coming into operation: 2nd April 2012

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11(1), (2) and (3) of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 .

The Department has consulted such persons appearing to it to represent any relevant interests as it considers appropriate.

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and shall come into operation on 2nd April 2012.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “calf” means a bovine animal aged up to six months;

• “conventionally reared meat chicken” means an animal of the species Gallus gallusthat is kept for meat production, other than one—that is on a holding with fewer than 500 such animals or with only breeding stocks of such animals;that is on a hatchery;in relation to which the term “Extensive indoor (barn reared)”, “Free range”, “Traditional free range” or “Free range – total freedom” can be used within the meaning of point (b), (c), (d) or (e) of Annex V to Commission Regulation (EC) No 543/2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards the marketing standards for poultry meat ;that is organically reared in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/1991, as last amended by Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 ;

• “farmed animal” means any animal bred or kept for the production of food, wool, skin or for other farming purposes;

• “laying hen” means a hen of the species Gallus gallus which has reached laying maturity and is kept for production of eggs not intended for hatching;

• “litter”, in relation to laying hens, means any friable material enabling the hens to satisfy their ethological needs and, in relation to conventionally reared meat chickens, material which is dry and friable on the surface;

• “nest” means a separate space for egg laying, the floor components of which may not include wire mesh that can come into contact with the birds, for an individual hen or for a group of hens;

• “person responsible” for the animal has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011;

• “pig” means an animal of the porcine species of any age, kept for breeding or fattening;

• “the Act” means the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011;

• “usable area” means—in relation to laying hens, an area used by laying hens, other than that taken up by a nest, which is at least 30cm wide with a floor slope not exceeding 14% and with headroom of at least 45cm; andin relation to conventionally reared meat chickens, a littered area accessible to the chickens at any time.

• (2) Expressions which are not defined in these Regulations and which appear in Council Directive 2008/120/EC laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs, and in relation to conventionally reared meat chickens, Council Directive 2007/43/EC have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have for the purposes of that Community legislation.

Duties on persons responsible for farmed animals

3

• (1) A person responsible for a farmed animal shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the conditions under which the farmed animal is bred or kept comply with Schedule 1.

• (2) In complying with the duty in paragraph (1), the person responsible for a farmed animal shall have regard to its—

• (a) species;

• (b) to its degree of development;

• (c) adaptation and domestication; and

• (d) physiological and ethological needs in accordance with established experience and scientific knowledge.

Additional duties on persons responsible for poultry, laying hens, conventionally reared meat chickens, calves, cattle, pigs or rabbits

4

• (1) A person responsible for—

• (a) poultry (other than those kept in the systems referred to in Schedules 2 and 3) kept in a building, shall ensure they are kept on or have access at all times to well-maintained litter or a well drained area for resting;

• (b) laying hens kept in establishments with more than 350 laying hens shall comply with Schedules 2, 3 and 4, as applicable;

• (c) conventionally reared meat chickens shall comply with Schedule 5;

• (d) calves confined for rearing and fattening shall comply with Schedule 6;

• (e) cattle (other than calves to which sub-paragraph (d) applies) shall comply with Schedule 7;

• (f) pigs shall, subject to paragraph (2), comply with—

• (i) Part 2 of Schedule 8; and

• (ii) Parts 3, 4, 5 or 6 of Schedule 8 (as the case may be) applicable to the particular class of pigs being kept;

• (g) rabbits shall comply with Schedule 9.

• (2) Paragraphs 12, 29, 30 and 31 of Schedule 8 apply to all holdings newly built, rebuilt or brought into use for the first time on or after 1st June 2003, but in the case of all other holdings, those paragraphs do not apply until 1st January 2013.

• (3) Part 1 (Interpretation) of Schedule 5 has effect.

• (4) Part 1 (Interpretation) of Schedule 8 has effect.

Codes of Practice

5

• (1) A person responsible for a farmed animal—

• (a) shall not attend to the animal unless that person is acquainted with any relevant code of practice and has access to the code while attending to the animal;

• (b) shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that a person employed or engaged by that person does not attend to the animal unless that other person—

• (i) is acquainted with any relevant codes of practice;

• (ii) has access to all such codes while attending to the animal; and

• (iii) has received instruction and guidance on those codes.

• (2) In this section, a “relevant code of practice” means a code of practice issued or revised under section 16 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 relating to the particular species of farmed animal to which a person is attending.

Offences

6

A person commits an offence if, without lawful authority or excuse, that person—

• (a) contravenes, or does not comply with a duty in, regulations 3, 4 or 5;

• (b) makes an entry in a record, or gives any information for the purposes of these Regulations which they know to be false in any material particular or, for those purposes, recklessly makes a statement or gives any information which is false in any material particular; or

• (c) causes or permits any of the above.

Penalties

7

A person guilty of an offence under regulation 6 is liable on summary conviction to—

• (a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months;

• (b) a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; or

• (c) both the term of imprisonment referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and the fine referred to in sub-paragraph (b).

Revocations

8

The Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 are hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE 1 — General conditions under which farmed animals shall be kept

Staffing

1

Animals shall be cared for by a sufficient number of staff who possess the appropriate ability, knowledge and professional competence.

Inspection

2

• (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), animals kept in husbandry systems in which their welfare depends on frequent human attention shall be thoroughly inspected at least once a day to check that they are in a state of well-being.

• (2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), animals kept in husbandry systems in which their welfare does not depend on frequent human attention shall be inspected at intervals sufficient to avoid any suffering.

• (3) In the following cases, it shall be sufficient for the purposes of this paragraph to comply with the following provisions—

• (a) in the case of laying hens, paragraph 1 of Schedule 4;

• (b) in the case of conventionally reared meat chickens, paragraph 8 of Schedule 5;

• (c) in the case of calves, paragraphs 2 or 3 of Schedule 6; and

• (d) in the case of pigs, paragraph 2 of part 2 of Schedule 8.

3

Where animals are kept in a building, adequate lighting (whether fixed or portable) shall be available to enable them to be thoroughly inspected at any time.

4

Where any animals (other than poultry) are kept in a building they shall be kept on, or have access at all times to, a lying area which is well drained or well maintained with dry bedding.

5

Any animals which appear to be ill or injured shall be cared for appropriately without delay, and where they do not respond to such care, veterinary advice shall be obtained as soon as possible.

6

Where necessary, sick or injured animals shall be isolated in suitable accommodation with, where appropriate, dry comfortable bedding.

Record keeping

7

A record shall be maintained of—

• (a) any medicinal treatment given to animals; and

• (b) the number of mortalities found on each inspection of animals carried out in accordance with any of the following provisions—

• (i) in the case of laying hens, paragraph 1 of Schedule 4;

• (ii) in the case of conventionally reared meat chickens, paragraph 8 of Schedule 5;

• (iii) in the case of calves, paragraphs 2 or 3 of Schedule 6; and

• (iv) in the case of pigs, paragraph 2 of part 2 of Schedule 8; or

• (v) in any other case, paragraph 2(1) or (2) of this Schedule.

8

The record referred to in paragraph 7 shall be retained for a period of at least three years from the date on which the medicinal treatment was given, or the date of the inspection, as the case may be, and shall be made available to an inspector upon request.

Freedom of movement

9

The freedom of movement of animals, having regard to their species and in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge, shall not be restricted in such a way as to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.

10

Where animals are continuously or regularly tethered or confined, they shall be given the space appropriate to their physiological and ethological needs in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge.

Buildings and accommodation

11

Materials used for the construction of accommodation, and in particular for the construction of pens, cages, stalls and equipment with which the animals may come into contact, shall not be harmful to them and shall be capable of being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

12

Accommodation and fittings for securing animals shall be constructed and maintained so that there are no sharp edges or protrusions likely to cause injury to them.

13

Air circulation, dust levels, temperature, relative air humidity and gas concentrations shall be kept within limits which are not harmful to the animals.

14

Animals kept in buildings shall not be kept in permanent darkness.

15

Where the natural light available in a building is insufficient to meet the physiological and ethological needs of any animals being kept in it, then appropriate artificial lighting shall be provided.

16

Animals kept in buildings shall not be kept without an appropriate period of rest from artificial lighting.

Animals not kept in buildings

17

Animals not kept in buildings shall, where necessary and possible, be given protection from adverse weather conditions, predators and risks to their health and shall, at all times, have access to a well drained lying area.

Automatic or mechanical equipment

18

All automated or mechanical equipment essential for the health and well being of the animals shall be inspected at least once a day to check that there is no defect in it and that no parts of the equipment have become seriously worn.

19

Where defects or worn parts in automated or mechanical equipment of the type specified in paragraph 18 are discovered, these shall be rectified immediately, or if this is impossible, appropriate steps shall be taken to safeguard the health and well-being of the animals pending the rectification of such defects including the use of alternative methods of feeding and watering and methods of providing and maintaining a satisfactory environment.

20

Where the health and well-being of the animals is dependent on an artificial ventilation system—

• (a) provision shall be made for an appropriate back-up system to guarantee sufficient air renewal to preserve the health and well-being of the animals in the event of failure of the system; and

• (b) an alarm system (which will operate even if the principal electricity supply to it has failed) shall be provided to give warning of any failure of the system.

21

The back-up system referred to in paragraph 20(a) shall be thoroughly inspected and the alarm system referred to in paragraph 20(b) tested at least once every seven days in order to check that there is no defect in the system, and, if any defect is found at any time, it shall be rectified immediately.

Feed, water and other substances

22

Animals shall be fed a wholesome diet which is appropriate to their age and species and which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health, to satisfy their nutritional needs and promote a positive state of well-being.

23

Animals shall not—

• (a) be provided with food or liquid in a manner which may cause unnecessary suffering or injury; or

• (b) be provided food or liquid containing any substance which may cause unnecessary suffering or injury.

24

All animals shall have access to feed at intervals appropriate to their physiological needs (and, in any case, at least once a day), except where a veterinary surgeon acting in the exercise of his profession otherwise directs.

25

All animals shall have access to a suitable water supply and be provided with an adequate supply of fresh drinking water each day or be able to satisfy their fluid intake needs by other means.

26

Feeding and watering equipment shall be designed, constructed, placed and maintained so that contamination of food and water and the harmful effects of competition between animals are minimised.

27

• (1) No other substance, with the exception of those given for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes or for the purpose of zootechnical treatment shall be administered to animals unless it has been demonstrated by scientific studies of animal welfare or established experience that the effect of that substance is not detrimental to the health or welfare of the animals.

• (2) “zootechnical treatment” has a meaning given in Article 1(2)(c) of Council Directive 96/22/EEC concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and beta-agonists.

Breeding procedures

28

• (1) Natural or artificial breeding or breeding procedures which cause, or are likely to cause, suffering or injury to any of the animals concerned shall not be practised.

• (2) Sub-paragraph (1) shall not preclude the use of natural or artificial breeding procedures that are likely to cause minimal or momentary suffering or injury or that might necessitate interventions which would not cause lasting injury.

29

Animals shall not be kept for farming purposes unless it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without detrimental effect on their health or welfare.

Electrical immobilisation

30

A person shall not apply an electrical current to any animal for the purpose of immobilisation.

SCHEDULE 2 — Additional conditions that apply to the keeping of laying hens in non-cage systems

1

All non-cage systems of production for keeping laying hens shall comply with the requirements of this Schedule.

2

All systems shall be equipped in such a way that all laying hens have—

• (a) linear feeders providing at least 10 cm per hen or circular feeders providing at least 4 cm per hen;

• (b) either continuous drinking troughs providing 2.5 cm per hen or circular drinking troughs providing 1 cm per hen;

• (c) at least one nest for every seven hens. If group nests are used, there shall be at least 1 m² of nest space for a maximum of 120 hens;

• (d) perches, without sharp edges and providing at least 15 cm per hen, which shall not be mounted above the litter, and the horizontal distance between perches shall be at least 30 cm and the horizontal distance between the perch and the wall shall be at least 20 cm; and

• (e) at least 250 cm² of littered area per hen, the litter occupying at least one third of the ground surface.

3

Where a system is equipped with nipple drinkers or cups, there must be at least one nipple drinker or cup for every 10 laying hens.

4

Where a system has drinking points plumbed in, at least two cups or two nipple drinkers must be within reach of each laying hen.

5

The floors of installations shall be constructed so as to support each of the forward-facing claws of each hen's foot.

6

If systems are used where the laying hens can move freely between different levels—

• (a) there shall be no more than four levels;

• (b) the headroom between the levels shall be at least 45cm;

• (c) the drinking and feeding facilities shall be distributed in such a way as to provide equal access for all hens; and

• (d) the levels shall be so arranged as to prevent droppings falling on the levels below.

7

If laying hens have access to open runs—