Morrisons to install CCTV cameras in abattoirs
Morrisons is to install CCTV cameras in all its abattoirs to provide assurance to customers and regulators about the welfare of animals.
The cameras will be installed by the end of December in the Colne and Turriff abattoirs of Woodhead Brothers, Morrisons wholly-owned meat processing business. It already has cameras installed at its Spalding site.
Cameras are being installed to ensure transparency about animal welfare standards, to monitor the treatment of animals, and to enable management to continuously improve systems.
Martyn Fletcher, Morrisons Group Manufacturing Director, said: Our customers want to know that animals are treated well through the slaughtering process and we believe installing CCTV cameras is the best way to demonstrate that we have the highest possible standards.
Morrisons is committed to the production of the highest quality food and excellence throughout our operations from field to fork. We can achieve this because we are the only major food retailer to own our own food manufacturing business.
Footage from the CCTV cameras will be stored for 30 days and made available to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The Food Standards Agency has said that it would like to see cameras installed in every abattoir.
The RSPCA is also backing compulsory cameras in all meat plants.
Julia Wrathall, head of RSPCAs farm animal science department, said: “We are delighted that Morrisons has taken this extremely important step in helping to safeguard animal welfare and hope that this will encourage others to do the same.
“The RSPCA announced earlier this year that it is calling for all abattoirs to have CCTV installed, as part of ongoing work to improve the welfare of farm animals at all stages of their lives.
About Morrisons:
We are the UK’s fourth largest food retailer with 425 stores and our business is mainly food and grocery the weekly shop. Uniquely we source and process most of the fresh food that we sell though our own manufacturing facilities, giving us close control over provenance and quality. We only sell 100% British fresh beef, lamb, pork and poultry and we have more people preparing more food in store than any other retailer including butchers, bakers and fishmongers. Every week, more than 11 million customers pass through our doors and more than 130,000 colleagues across the business work hard each day to deliver great service to them. With competitive prices and hundreds of special offers, we are proud to save our customers money every day.
Morrisons sources 95 per cent of its fresh lamb, beef and pork from its wholly-owned meat process business Woodhead Brothers. The remainder is sourced externally as is poultry.