What services does the Public Abattoir provide ?
The Public Abattoir provides services related to the
slaughter for bovines, swine, equines and small ruminants. Such services
involve a number of processes, mainly: the slaughtering of said animal species;
a service of cutting and deboning of carcasses in a separate hall; the
dispatch of carcases to butcher shops or meat processors including the
three-way cut of half-carcases; and disposal or recovery of animal
by-products. The Public Abattoir also provides an on-farm emergency
service for the said species of animals as well as assists educational
establishments by providing them, subject to specific conditions, with
carcass parts which they require to perform their didactic and/or research
function. For more information, please see the dedicated web-pages.
Which Animals are slaughtered at the Public Abattoir ?
The Public Abattoir slaughters bovines (that is cattle –
cows, bulls, heifers etc), swine (that is pigs – boars, sows etc), equines (that
is horses) and small ruminants (that is sheep and goats including lambs and
kids) for human consumption.
Who can bring Animals for Slaughter ?
It is only livestock-owners who are authorised to bring animals
for slaughter. Livestock owners have to be registered as breeders with the Veterinary
Regulations Department and abide by the applicable regulatory requirements,
including concerning the transport of the animals in question to the public
abattoir. A livestock owner is required
to book the slaughter of an animal at least 24 hours prior to the slaughtering
date, taking into consideration the Public Abattoir’s Slaughtering Schedule
Can meat be bought from the Public Abattoir ?
No. The Public Abattoir does not sell meat, nor is it legal
for meat to be sold by anyone from the Public Abattoir. The Abattoir only
provides slaughtering services to livestock-owners who bring their animals over
to the Public Abattoir and dispatched in appropriately refrigerated vehicles.
How long does it take to get an animal slaughtered and the meat taken
out of the abattoir ?
Animals are slaughtered according to the weekly slaughtering
schedule. Following a post-mortem inspection, the carcases are chilled to a
temperature throughout the meat of not more than 3°C for Offal and 7°C for
other meat. Meat shall only be dispatched once the whole carcase achieved these
temperatures, and shall only be dispatched onto refrigerated trucks which can
ensure that those temperatures are maintained during transport.