The group hopes the report will help the meat industry adopt similar regulations across state and territory borders, rather than continuing to have wildly different rules and regulations.
RSPCA Australia chief scientist Bidda Jones said the report and the scorecards it dealt out shine a light on the gaps in regulation.
Dr Jones said voluntary industry standards had been going above legal requirements and improving animal welfare on their own — but it was time state laws caught up.
“The public (including farmers) should be able to have confidence that all animals in Australia are handled and slaughtered humanely,” she said.
“With the current regulatory system, having that confidence is not always possible.”
Dr Jones said there were many areas in the industry which still needed improvement, such as CCTV use and company training.
“There’s a lot the public doesn’t know about animal welfare in Australian slaughtering establishments — including even how many animals are being slaughtered.
“That’s why the RSPCA has released this report and scorecard, to give the community a greater insight into exactly how animal welfare is regulated in Australian abattoirs, knackeries and poultry processors.”
The release of the report also coincides with the resumption of progress on the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Livestock at Processing Establishments.
The report came with 13 recommendations, including: CCTV in all facilities, audits conducted quarterly at minimum, auditors getting better training, and slaughtering establishments employing a full-time animal welfare officer.
It is the RSPCA’s view that increased transparency and oversight at slaughtering establishments will only improve the reputation of Australia’s red meat industry.
NSW abattoirs were the only sector to earn a green mark on their report card due to high animal welfare requirements, auditor training, oversight, CCTV use and company training.
Western Australia and Tasmanian abattoirs scored the worst, while South Australia, Queensland and Victoria made up the middle of the pack.
In poultry processing, Victoria got 9.5 points across the board, below NSW’s 14.5 points but better than Tasmania’s four points.
In knackeries — of which Victoria has eight and NSW 10 — Victoria scored zero in animal welfare, three in audit frequency, three in auditor training, 0.5 in oversight, zero in CCTV use, zero in company training and 2.5 in transparency.
The report can be accessed at: scorecard.rspca.org.au/reports/
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