SEVERAL men and two abattoirs have been fined thousands following three Food Standards Agency (FSA) investigations into offences under animal welfare regulations.
Guilty pleas were made at Crewe Magistrates Court last month, by the defendants to a total of 25 charges, with slaughterhouse operator G and GB Hewitt Ltd fined £19,500.
Six men who worked there were sentenced for animal welfare offences.
The case came about following undercover footage from an animal welfare organisation.
In a second recent case at Birmingham Magistrates Court, a Midlands abattoir was fined for breaking the law on the treatment of animals by causing avoidable pain, distress or suffering.
Magistrates fined Leansale Ltd £10,000, and they must pay costs of?£500 and a surcharge of £190.
The FSA monitors animal welfare at approved slaughterhouses in England and Wales by ensuring they are compliant with all specific requirements in animal welfare legislation.
Slaughterhouses in England where live animals are present should by law be covered by CCTV, and operators are required to give authorised FSA staff access to the footage.
In the final case at Warrington Magistrates Court, Charles Morphet, a director of C S Morphet and Sons Ltd, a red meat abattoir in Cheshire, was found guilty of one offence of handling animals without having a valid certificate.
Mr Morphet was fined £180 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £500.
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