'unlicensed' horse slaughter???

minesadouble

minesadouble

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Do horse slaughterers or 'knackermen' have to be licensed by law? I'm assuming they do but never really given it a thought until recently.
 
2 different things.

A knackerman has to have a gun licence & the livestock he dispatches are not permitted to enter the human food chain.

A slaughterhouse is for animals which enter the food chain & have to have the appropriate hygiene licencing as well as disposal licencing.

As far as I undertand, anyway
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
2 different things.

A knackerman has to have a gun licence & the livestock he dispatches are not permitted to enter the human food chain.

A slaughterhouse is for animals which enter the food chain & have to have the appropriate hygiene licencing as well as disposal licencing.

As far as I undertand, anyway
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Yes, I think that's right.
 
Yes thats true.

My husband has a firearms licence but however much I'm sure he would like to set up a slaughterhouse at home and recycle all my horses into steaks, he tells me the red tape involved would be prohibitive.

;) :D
 
patterdale said:
Yes thats true.

My husband has a firearms licence but however much I'm sure he would like to set up a slaughterhouse at home and recycle all my horses into steaks, he tells me the red tape involved would be prohibitive.

;) :D
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Hahaha, I'm sure mine would think that was a great idea too!!

So essentially, if you have a firearms licence you are able to shoot another person's horse for financial gain?

When you look up horse slaughterers (not an actual slaughterhouse or abbatoir) it usually lists them as 'licensed horse slaughterers' and I was curious as to whether there was a licensing requirement other than a firearms licence?
 
patterdale said:
Ps why do you ask? New business venture? :eek:
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Nope - definitely not my idea of a rewarding career, much as sometimes I am tempted to offer one of my own awkward creatures a swift lead injection ;)

The reason I ask is a person on my yard had their horse shot a few months and didn't use any of our local knackermen. She said his name and where he was from and to be honest I thought nothing more of it. He had an Ifor Williams trailer and no winch (odd), and from the mess left behind I suspect the horse was bled, there was WAY more blood than normal and my farmer OH came and looked and also suspected the horse was partially bled.

Anyway the name of the person was a little unusual and by chance I have come across someone of the same name, same location who has a website and is apparently an animal communicator, barefoot trimmer etc. etc. and it set me wondering whether it is in fact the same person and whether he is offering a slaughter service illegally. There is no mention of it on his website and I cannot find his name in any list of licensed horse slaughterers, just all seems a little bit odd......
 
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I thtink I know who this slaughterman is, (N.Yorks?) as far as I'm aware he does a good job.

I doubt that the horse would have been deliberately bled out, some can bleed an awful lot. The hunt did my friends horse and the amount of blood was unbelievable in comparison to others, but it was an instant and quick end.
 
Anyone with a gun license can shoot them but if its a through and through shot its very difficult to then have them taken away by someone else.
When my old boy was pts our family friend offered to do the deed but on looking into it the above was what we discovered.
 
jrp204 said:
https://www.gov.uk/farm-animal-welfare-at-slaughter
According to this you do not have to be licensed to kill an animal with a free bullet but do have to hold a firearms licence. As long as the animal is killed instantly I am not sure why it would be a problem.
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Thanks for that link. Is a horse a farm animal though? Usually not, also the following from that link

"Licensing and training of slaughtermen

All slaughtermen must comply with the legal requirements of the WASK as amended.

The regulations require anyone who kills or slaughters animals or birds to hold a provisional or registered licence for the following procedures:
-restraining an animal to stun, slaughter or kill it
-assessment of effective stunning or killing
-stunning, slaughtering or killing animals
-shackling or hoisting stunned animals
-bleeding animals not yet dead
-pithing stunned animals"

Would seem to suggest that training and a licence ARE required for the job.

I'm no bunny hugger but have to say that the thought that any Tom, Dick orHarry would be legally entitled to shoot a horse seems a bit worrying surely. As all we horsey folk know the horse's brain is a teeeny weeny organ and can't be that hard to miss ;)
 
I was told by a vet that anyone with a gun can shoot a horse. When the circulation had collapsed in an old pony we had and the stupid new girl vet couldn't find a vein and had no gun my husband could legally have shot her with his shotgun. Luckily minutes before it came to that older vet came and used injection successfully.

Also have seen a horse break down out hunting and get shot by terrierman.
 
mandwhy said:
Grim! What does 'bled out' mean? Left to bleed? Is that something they do on purpose? Why would they do that?!
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All meat for human consumption is bled to preserve the quality of the meat. the animal is shot with a captive bolt then slung up and it's throat cut (the animal is obviously unconscious and has no awareness of this exc. halal of course). Basically it is the bleeding that is the actual cause of deathas the bolt merely 'stuns' the animal.

If a horse is shot with a captive bolt, rather than free bullet, they would normally be 'pithed' metal rod inserted through bullet hole to'finish' them, alternatively it's throat could be cut.

As far as I am aware it is very rare for horses to be shot with captive bolt these days, it is usually free bullet. Sorry to be so graphic but you did ask......not a very nice subject I know :(
 
I very much doubt a normal 12 bore would do a very good job of dispatching a horse, it would need to be something with a proper bullet.
 
Clodagh said:
I was told by a vet that anyone with a gun can shoot a horse. When the circulation had collapsed in an old pony we had and the stupid new girl vet couldn't find a vein and had no gun my husband could legally have shot her with his shotgun. Luckily minutes before it came to that older vet came and used injection successfully.

Also have seen a horse break down out hunting and get shot by terrierman.
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I've just had this discussion with my farmer hubby, who does sometimes shoot his own cattle should it be neccesssary on urgent welfare grounds. However his thoughts are that in order to be a 'professional slaughterman' i.e. for financial reward, a licence is needed.
 
No it was effective, apparently you need to not hold the end of the barrel against their heads to allow a bit of pellet spread. Very messy though and lots of blood.

Sorry all, maybe TMI.
 
minesadouble said:
I've just had this discussion with my farmer hubby, who does sometimes shoot his own cattle should it be neccesssary on urgent welfare grounds. However his thoughts are that in order to be a 'professional slaughterman' i.e. for financial reward, a licence is needed.
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That would make sense if it was being done for money, yes. The huntsman has a special license I think even though they are only going to the kennels.
 
If you read down the page it says you do not need a licence to kill with a free bullet, you would if a bolt was used but these are not used on horses. Horses are not generally classed as livestock but I wouldn't be surprised if these guidelines were generally used. I will stand to be corrected though, couldn't find anything about horse slaughter licensing except not using a bolt.
 
I hold a firearms licence for the humane slaughter of animals. You don't need to hold any other licencing for the destruction of animals, but I gather that if the carcass was to be intended for the food chain then yes you would need some sort of other licence. Your licence also needs to specify that that is what you use the firearm for.
 
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minesadouble said:
Nope - definitely not my idea of a rewarding career, much as sometimes I am tempted to offer one of my own awkward creatures a swift lead injection ;)

The reason I ask is a person on my yard had their horse shot a few months and didn't use any of our local knackermen. She said his name and where he was from and to be honest I thought nothing more of it. He had an Ifor Williams trailer and no winch (odd), and from the mess left behind I suspect the horse was bled, there was WAY more blood than normal and my farmer OH came and looked and also suspected the horse was partially bled.

Anyway the name of the person was a little unusual and by chance I have come across someone of the same name, same location who has a website and is apparently an animal communicator, barefoot trimmer etc. etc. and it set me wondering whether it is in fact the same person and whether he is offering a slaughter service illegally. There is no mention of it on his website and I cannot find his name in any list of licensed horse slaughterers, just all seems a little bit odd......
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JEEEEEEZZZZZZ :( This sounds AWFUL. Why TF didn't the owner contact the local kennels FFS? Or get the vet? I'm shocked, and appalled. Poor, poor horse.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
JEEEEEEZZZZZZ :( This sounds AWFUL. Why TF didn't the owner contact the local kennels FFS? Or get the vet? I'm shocked, and appalled. Poor, poor horse.
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Well it does seem a little strange to say the least, however am not saying the person did not make a competent job of it. Hubby was on the farm that day and did only hear one shot.

From what I can gather from the link though you may be able to shoot animals ON YOUR OWN FARM without a licence but am sure to do others, off your own place, in a non-emergency situation SURELY there is some kind of regulation???

If not then I think that is VERY worrying! How many 'laymen' with a gun licence actually know where a horse is even meant to be shot???
 
Thanks minesadouble, graphic indeed but I did ask! I did not know that was something usually done for meat animals, I knew cows etc were shot with a bolt but thought that would kill them not stun them. We should really know these things if we are going to eat meat I think.
 
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