A survey on the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses in Ireland has been undertaken by the Department of Agriculture.

The Department, which declined to release the results of the survey, said it had carried out the survey under the condition of anonymity, and the results have not yet been analysed.

However, correspondence from the Department with the factories and seen by FarmIreland.ie states that the aim of this survey is to inform the development of policy by the Department in relation to the protection of the welfare of animals at the time of slaughter.

It’s understood that the survey was circulated to the management of all slaughterhouses in Ireland under the control of the Department of Agriculture.

Among the questions, posed by the Department of factories included their opinions on the minimum retention period for the CCTV footage, safeguards in terms of the risk of loss or unauthorised use of CCTV data and whether it should be a legal requirement for all premises slaughtering animals in Ireland to be equipped with CCTV.

The Department assured factory management that any data provided will be kept strictly confidential and stored securely.

It also said all results will be anonymised and no personal details or plant details will be used for any other purpose beyond the survey. It further said once results have been collated, all individual responses will be disposed of.

Currently, slaughterhouses killing greater than 1,000 livestock units a year are legally obliged to designate an Animal Welfare Officer to ensure compliance with the rules laid down in Animal Welfare Regulations

Where CCTV is used in slaughter plant lairages and slaughter points, the resulting footage must be made available to Department staff on request, to allow Department staff verify compliance with legislative requirement

It comes as Scottish ministers to bring forward legislation on CCTV in abattoirs.

The Scottish Government has said it believes the measure would help to ensure high standards of animal welfare in the buildings.

Under ministers’ plans in Scotland, abattoirs would be compelled to record on CCTV in all the areas where there are live animals.

More than eight out of 10 slaughterhouses in Scotland have already installed CCTV coverage in their premises voluntarily, and over 95pc of all animals slaughtered in Scotland are covered by some form of CCTV. However, the standards of that coverage can differ from location to location.

Online Editors