Low Stress, High Welfare

After spending months rearing stock to the highest welfare standards it is important that the end is as stress free as possible.

cows

Originally published in 2014 we keep this article up to date as our business grows. Last updated Jan 2018. Due to recent concerns in the press about the provenance and welfare of how meat is slaughtered and as a farm that prides itself on traceability and creating food you can trust, we wanted to detail the story behind our slaughter methods.We wish to reassure customers that all our poultry and animals are pre-stunned before slaughter. After spending months rearing stock to the highest welfare standards it is important that the end is as stress free as possible.Our pigs , cattle and lambs go to a small organic certified abattoir less than 40 miles away with the pigs having several practice trips in the trailer when they are moved around the fields so that they are not stressed on their final journey. They are always fed when they go in the trailer which means loading is not a problem. They are loaded the night before and sleep on plenty of straw. Before leaving, the pigs are often still asleep when Jo gets to the abattoir with them. To avoid stress and fighting, our pigs are kept separate from others and are slaughtered quickly and humanely.We make sure that neither lambs nor pigs ever go alone with a minimum of two animals going together with every attempt to minimise stress to the animal.Our cattle are slaughtered at the same abattoir which is our nearest organic abattoir and one of only a few in the North of England. the abattoir has RSPCA assurance and is fully CCTV monitored.The trips take less than an hour - a fraction of the average food miles traveled by meat stocked in the UK’s supermarkets.Again, the animals are not mixed with other stock and are slaughtered the same day. The abattoir is independently audited and follows organic procedures set down by the Soil Association.

All poultry are slaughtered on the farm here at Swillington. They are free-range until just before slaughter. They are slaughtered by a qualified slaughterperson who has a slaughter licence, gained after months of work experience before being observed by a vet who grants the licence. At Swillington it is Jo, our farmer, who has the licence which was gained after training at Loose Birds. This minimises transport and food miles and all products are butchered and packed by our team here at Swillington to guarantee quality.

Organic Chicken

After our animals have been humanely and expertly slaughtered, we then butcher the whole carcass from nose to tail allowing full traceability of every cut, giving you the customer the opportunity to know where your food has come from and try traditional cuts that you won’t find elsewhere. We host regular farm visits so that when your box is delivered you know exactly what your family is eating.