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Breeding rabbits for meat......

bunnyrun

Mama Doe
someone local to me wants to start breeding rabbits for meat:cry::cry: does anyone know if you need a licence to do this :? i need to try and stop this from happening before it starts:cry::cry:
 
It may be a case where they just need to be humanly killed. But contact RSPCA to see if they can stop it completely as just doesn't seem right
 
Oh no, how awful :(

Found this on DEFRA website 'Guidance on Licensing and Training of Slaughtemen':

Operations which require a licence
The Regulations require anyone carrying out the following operations to have a provisional or a registered licence:

*The restraint of an animal for the purposes of stunning, slaughtering or killing
*The stunning, slaughter or killing of animals
*The pithing of stunned animals
*The assessment of effective stunning or killing
*The shackling or hoisting of stunned animals
*The bleeding of animals which are not dead

Exemptions
A licence is not required for the following operations:

*Emergency slaughter or killing, where the animal must be killed immediately
*Slaughter or killing by the owner of an animal for his private consumption (when slaughter takes place elsewhere than in a slaughterhouse or knacker's yard)
*Slaughter or killing for a non-commercial purpose ("commercial" is defined in the Regulations)
*Killing by using a free bullet in the field
*Neck dislocation or decapitation of poultry on agricultural premises where the birds were reared
*Operation of automatic equipment (where the operator does not carry out any task which would otherwise require a licence)
*Shackling birds before stunning
*Slaughter or killing under the direction of a veterinary surgeon

So, if it's just for domestic consumption, looks unlikely they'd need a licence.
 
I think it may depend on exactly what he means - breeding for himself, or for sale? Would he literally just rear the animals then sell them and have them transported elsewhere for slaughter, or would he be looking at killing them on the premises? Would he also then be selling them whole, or cutting them into 'joints' on his premises? There are so many variables, what licences he needs (if any) and what legislation he needs to comply with probably depends on the exact nature of what he is intending to do.
 
I don't think there is much to do about it really..
You may think I'm bad for saying this but there's not much more evil to breed rabbits for meat than it is pigs. So unless the entire country goes vegetarian, people will still be eating the animals. That doesn't mean they will get a bad life while they're still alive:wave: (It may even be easier to provide a large nice living quarters for a rabbit than for a giant pig, just give them a large run, something to eat and chew on and they're happy.)
 
If the animals are to be sold then don't they need a breeders licence from the council? Also won't they have to pay business rates etc? I might write an anonymous letter to them telling them you would be keeping an eye on them and reporting them if they try not to pay their business rates etc.
 
if he is selling the meat then he does need a lisence also the rabbits would have to sent to slaughter house to be approved. if he is killing them for himself then i think he doesnt need a lisence.:? but if he sells once ounce of meat unchecked its a serious crime to do so
 
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