Can a slaughterman come out to my farm and kill my animals for me?
A 21. If you use the services of a slaughterman to slaughter your own animal (s) on farm, then consume the resulting meat you run the risk of contravening EU food hygiene regulations. This is because by law, dressed and butchered carcases cannot be supplied for consumption unless their carcass has been subject to inspection and health marking by the Meat Hygiene Service in a licenced premises. In the case of the slaughterman only killing your animal and not dressing or butchering the carcase, this may be legal, however the issue is unclear. It would be advisable to locate your nearest licensed abattoir, and arrange for your animal to be slaughtered there. You can then be assured that the animal’s welfare will be protected and the returned meat will have been inspected, health marked and butchered hygienically. It also avoids the issue of waste disposal of blood and other by-products. Please contact the Food Standards Agency on 020 7276 8377 in order to obtain advice about private slaug
