The remit, powers and duties of the relevant bodies
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7. One of Defra’s key responsibilities, as set out in their own publications, is to work with the farming industry with the aim of delivering a better environment, improved animal health and welfare, safer food and working conditions and a sustainable industry. Defra also administer support policies for the industry agreed by the European Union (EU) which provide around £3 billion to UK agriculture.
8. The State Veterinary Service (SVS) was one of Defra’s executive agencies. (Since the events in this case, the SVS has been renamed Animal Health, but I shall refer to it as the SVS throughout this report for simplicity.) The SVS was responsible for delivering agreed services in public health and animal health and welfare within Great Britain. SVS field staff were qualified veterinarians (vets) and trained technicians (animal health officers). They worked from 24 Animal Health Divisional Offices throughout the country. There were around 1,400 staff in the SVS, covering approximately 350,000 livestock premises. Through the services it provided (mainly to keepers of livestock, who are generally – but not exclusively – farmers) the SVS’s objective was to keep animals healthy and free from disease and ensure that they were well looked after, which in turn helped to ensure that animal products were also free from diseases that might affect humans or other animals that consumed them. The majority of SVS work was therefore focused on the prevention, detection and management of animal diseases in livestock, and took the form of regulation (through inspection and programmes of regular testing of animals to check that they remain disease free), advice and support.
9. The work of the SVS was also governed at the time of the events in question by the Protection of Animals Act 1911, which contained the general law relating to cruelty to animals, including by causing them unnecessary suffering. (Since then that Act has been replaced by the Animal Welfare Act 2006.) The welfare of all farmed livestock on agricultural land is further protected by the Agricultural (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 which provides for codes of recommendations relating to welfare of different livestock groups (there are, for example, different codes relating to cattle, sheep, pigs and hens) to be drawn up. These ‘welfare codes’, as they are usually referred to, do not lay down statutory requirements, but all livestock farmers and employers are required by law to ensure that all those attending to their livestock are familiar with, and have access to, the relevant codes. SVS field staff carried out inspections of farms, markets, animals during transport and abattoirs to ensure that conditions were appropriate and that animals were suffering no cruelty, or unacceptable levels of stress or discomfort. Welfare inspections on farms were required to check that the relevant legislation and welfare codes were being followed. In addition to spot checks and planned visits, SVS field staff were required to follow up complaints and allegations of poor welfare on specific farms as a matter of urgency. Further, in addition to the animal welfare codes, the SVS issued broad guidance to field officers on welfare matters and when to recommend formal action on welfare grounds (broadly, if they come across a similar welfare problem on the same farm on three different occasions).
10. Where welfare problems were found, advice or warnings were given to bring about the necessary improvements, and follow-up visits were made to check on this. However, where necessary, and where the evidence was available, Defra could initiate prosecution action against farmers for welfare offences. SVS staff were given instructions and guidance on enforcement and legal proceedings, which set out the relevant legislation and powers under which enforcement action could be taken and the process to be followed. The guidance said that in every case where SVS staff found an apparent contravention of legislation they should inform the person concerned that the matter would be reported to the Divisional Veterinary Manager (DVM). A report should then be submitted promptly in writing and the DVM would then consult his or her Regional Manager on the line of action to be taken. The guidance reminded staff that, in addition to the normal reports that they prepared in the course of their work, when offences were suspected, they should be aware that detailed recording of evidence might be required for the future preparation of statements. Conversations with persons related to the possible offences should be recorded, and the time when the record was completed should be noted and the notebook signed. That guidance also explained that enforcement is entrusted to certain local authorities in almost all the legislation in which Defra staff are involved (see paragraph 13), and that the police also have enforcement powers under the Animal Health Act 1981.
11. The SVS also had duties in relation to animal by-products and catering waste. SVS officers were responsible for inspecting premises and works that processed animal carcasses, either to produce other products or to dispose of them, and for ensuring that catering waste containing meat or other by-products was appropriately disposed of. Their aim was to help ensure that the relevant legislation (primarily the Animal By-Products Order 1999 – see paragraph 15) and best practice were being followed and that the risk of contamination was minimal. Before swill feeding was banned, it was also the role of the SVS to approve and issue the relevant licences to swill processors and feeders (see paragraphs 15 to 17 below), and to monitor compliance with those licences through inspections. At each inspection the SVS vet would also check the swill farmer’s records of swill movement and use (to confirm that they were purchasing sufficient processed swill to feed their pigs). It was established practice for the SVS to inspect swill feeders twice a year; swill processors were inspected four times a year: once by a vet and three times by a technical officer (see paragraph 9).
12. There was, however, no specific guidance on action to be taken in relation to licensing matters. The SVS staff interviewed in connection with this investigation told my officers that their practice was to follow the same process as in relation to welfare matters, namely that if there was an obvious transgression, then the farmer would be given a warning and follow-up visits made to monitor the situation. If there was insufficient improvement, or if the transgression was very serious, then a report would be prepared for the Divisional Veterinary Manager recommending prosecution. Once again, however, the SVS were not the formal enforcing or prosecuting body; that was the local authority (in line with Regulation 33 of the Animal By-Products Order 1999). If, therefore, the Divisional Veterinary Manager agreed that formal action was required, the SVS would have to pursue the matter with the local authority.
13. Local Authorities (LAs) are the primary enforcement body under the Animal Health Act 1981 (which provides for the control of animal diseases that can be caught by humans and for the welfare of animals on the farm, in transit and at market), as well as other animal health and welfare legislation. These functions are normally carried out, depending upon the type and structure of the LA, within a Trading Standards Service or Environmental Health Service or equivalent. LA inspectors have a statutory duty to enforce a wide range of legislation controlling the quantity, quality, price, description, and safety of most goods and services, as well as animal health. To ensure compliance LA inspectors investigate complaints, undertake visits to businesses, advise traders and consumers, and sample, test and survey goods and services. As part of the LAs’ role in enforcing animal health and welfare legislation (including the Animal Health Act 1981 and the Protection of Animals Act 1911 – see paragraph 9) LA inspectors regularly inspect points in the farm-to-fork chain, including farms, abattoirs, and in-transit movements to check compliance with the range of animal health and welfare legislation for which they are responsible. This includes livestock records, identification and movements to ensure animals can be quickly traced in the event of an outbreak of notifiable disease, such as FMD or swine fever. They also inspect animal feed producers and test the quality of feeding stuffs, in line with their enforcement responsibilities under the Animal By-Products Order 1999 (see paragraphs 15 and 16 below).
