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Author Topic: Anyone done a home kill ?  (Read 15329 times)

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #30 on: August 12, 2011, 04:23:53 pm »

[/quote]

I don't do 'home kill' as I sell my meat but I believe the situation to be as follows:
You can kill the pig yourself (humanely), gut it, cut it up provided it is for your own consumption.  If you hire a slaughterman to do it for you at home he can only kill it, he cannot gut it etc as he would be providing a 'service' and that is illegal.
[/quote]

I'm confused by the laws now.  On the homeslaughter website it says
http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/homeslaughterlivestockwales.pdf
"Slaughter on-farm by an itinerant slaughterman
26.
It is unlawful for a farmer to use the services of an itinerant slaughterman both to slaughter his animal and to dress it. This is because the slaughterman would be supplying goods (i.e. a dressed carcase) in the course of his business."

And it doesn't say anything like that on these links ....... which i got from the Food Standards Agency

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/ahw/animalwelfare/livestockwelfare/welfareofanimalsatslaughter/onfarmkillingandslaughter/?lang=en

and

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/contents/made 

I got the 2nd two links directly from a lady at the food standards agency when i queried something from the first link. 


Sylvia

  • Joined Aug 2009
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #31 on: August 12, 2011, 04:40:38 pm »
Surely, all the waste you would have to dispose of would be the contents of the stomach and intestines. All else would be usable. I've been reading an old book on pig-killing which involves a razor sharp knife :-\) Seriously though ALL of the pig can be used and if he's been bellied out properly there will be no waste at all, seemingly.

jacquip

  • Joined Apr 2011
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #32 on: August 12, 2011, 07:54:53 pm »


I don't do 'home kill' as I sell my meat but I believe the situation to be as follows:
You can kill the pig yourself (humanely), gut it, cut it up provided it is for your own consumption.  If you hire a slaughterman to do it for you at home he can only kill it, he cannot gut it etc as he would be providing a 'service' and that is illegal.
[/quote]

I'm confused by the laws now.  On the homeslaughter website it says
http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/homeslaughterlivestockwales.pdf
"Slaughter on-farm by an itinerant slaughterman
26.
It is unlawful for a farmer to use the services of an itinerant slaughterman both to slaughter his animal and to dress it. This is because the slaughterman would be supplying goods (i.e. a dressed carcase) in the course of his business."

[/quote]

It must have been revised then  (I love it when they change the law and don't tell anyone) it used to be the case that you had to dress it yourself.  If you can't hire a professional to kill things for you then you would have to be very experienced not to cause the creature suffering.

Although the Humane Slaughter Association website says:
Q 21. Can a slaughterman come out to my farm and kill my animals for me?
A 21. If you use the services of a slaughterman to slaughter your own animal (s) on farm, then consume the resulting meat you run the risk of contravening EU food hygiene regulations. This is because by law, dressed and butchered carcases cannot be supplied for consumption unless their carcass has been subject to inspection and health marking by the Meat Hygiene Service in a licenced premises. In the case of the slaughterman only killing your animal and not dressing or butchering the carcase, this may be legal, however the issue is unclear. It would be advisable to locate your nearest licensed abattoir, and arrange for your animal to be slaughtered there. You can then be assured that the animal’s welfare will be protected and the returned meat will have been inspected, health marked and butchered hygienically. It also avoids the issue of waste disposal of blood and other by-products. Please contact the Food Standards Agency on 020 7276 8377 in order to obtain advice about private slaughter of livestock.

« Last Edit: August 12, 2011, 08:10:40 pm by jacquip »

welshlass181

  • Joined Jan 2011
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #33 on: August 12, 2011, 08:21:44 pm »
I'm due to make some phone calls to find out what the exact laws and regulations are (for my area anyway) as the info conflicts on-line.  If we had the facilities to do a home kill and a collector of the inerds then we'd consider it.  Until then (that won't happen) then they'll go to a slaughter house as normal

janeislay

  • Joined Sep 2010
  • Isle of Islay
    • Ellister Islay Highland Ponies
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #34 on: August 18, 2011, 10:21:37 am »
it is meant to hang in a chill for 1 night     at a slaughterhouse        at home in a shed who knows what is near it if left to hang :farmer:

Then why, when we sent our last two pigs to the abattoir, did they recommend hanging in the chill room for a full week ?
I thought ALL meat was best hung; we certainly do it that way.  And our "shed" is purpose built and immaculate, with a totally isolated chill room  :P

oaklandspigs

  • Joined Nov 2009
  • East Sussex
    • OaklandsPigs
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #35 on: August 18, 2011, 11:44:26 am »
Welshlass,

The links you provide are not contradictory, just written by the FSA and others who don't want people home killing, so are phrased to persuade you not to !

The first link is the welsh guidance, which says you cannot pay a slaughterman to kill and dress, but does say under para 23 that the farmer can kill the animal himself.

The second link (Welsh government) repeats the same ie farmer can kill the animal himself, otherwise must be licenced slaughterman.  The fact that this part does not state anything about consumption is just that it is covering killing, as are the 1995 regulations. Both these are just about being able to kill an animal, so don't cover the private consumption.

What is interesting is that the FASA 2011 guidance says

"It is unlawful for a farmer to use the services of an itinerant slaughterman both to slaughter his animal and to dress it. This is because the slaughterman would be supplying goods (i.e. a dressed carcase) in the course of his business."

whereas the same FSA  guidance in the 2009 version stated

"It is unlawful for a farmer to use the services of an itinerant slaughterman both to slaughter his animal and to dress it. This is because the slaughterman would be supplying goods (i.e. a dressed carcase) in the course of his business. However, if the slaughterman did no more than kill the animal, leaving the farmer to dress and cut the carcase, the Courts might be less likely to conclude that the slaughterman was supplying goods (and more likely to be supplying services). If so, this activity might be held to be lawful, (i.e. the EU Food Hygiene Regulation 853/2004 would not prohibit it) although the issue is far from clear. The EU TSE controls would in any event apply."

The revision history of these documents states that the difference between 2009 and 2011 is "To reflect alternative arrangements for BSE Testing", so whilst TSE species are far more difficult (pigs are not in the TSE group), it looks like someone has made the decision to edit out the second part (no doubt on the grounds of being clear) and make it look as though any use of slaughterman would be illegal.

However in all cases, this would be for consumption of "immediate family living in the same household", and any "placing on the market" - eg giving or selling to anyone else would make that placing act illegal (although the kill could still be legal).

« Last Edit: August 18, 2011, 11:52:32 am by oaklandspigs »
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oaklandspigs

  • Joined Nov 2009
  • East Sussex
    • OaklandsPigs
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #36 on: August 18, 2011, 11:58:32 am »
Then why, when we sent our last two pigs to the abattoir, did they recommend hanging in the chill room for a full week ?
I thought ALL meat was best hung; we certainly do it that way.  And our "shed" is purpose built and immaculate, with a totally isolated chill room  :P

Lamb and beef clearly benefit from being hung, but most people do not think that pork does.  However there are some advocates of hanging pork who say that the flavour does improve, so you pays your money....

In any event, pork does need to be hung for a day or two to let the meat "set up" ie become firmer which allows much easier butchery.  Hanging for longer will not cause any problems, so hanging for a week (or even two) is fine.

www.Oaklandspigs.co.uk
"Perfect Pigs" the complete guide to keeping pigs; One Day Pig Courses in South East;
Weaners for sale - Visit our site for details

darkbrowneggs

  • Joined Aug 2010
    • The World is My Lobster
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #37 on: August 18, 2011, 12:28:24 pm »
Had my first 2 pigs done at home before all the laws became so complex

I got a licenced slaughterman who used a captive bolt, but it was difficult as the pigs did not want to be handled by a stranger.  Then we had to get the hair off (tamworth and gloucester old spot)  As I didnt have a bath we used the old straw burning method, which I have to say was not all that successful unless you like your crackling with a 5 o'clock shadow.

I had them killed in winter so we hung them up in a shed to set and he came back to cut them up later.

All in all it was a real performance, and since then I have taken them to the abattoir.  When they go in it all seems calm and organised now, and I have never noticed any signs of stress with the animals.  I think if they have not been hurt or hassled over their lifetime they don't expect to be, so are not under stress

Other home kills have been sheep and beef and various poultry, but again it gets more and more difficult to organize so good or bad I feel the abattoir is probably the way to go. 

Reading some of the links I hope the Government in its wisdom is not intending to make small poultry keepers gas their birds, and I hope The Poultry Club and other bodies will put the case against such an action forward

All the best
Sue
To follow my travel journal see http://www.theworldismylobster.org.uk

For lots of info about Marans and how to breed and look after them see www.darkbrowneggs.info

janeislay

  • Joined Sep 2010
  • Isle of Islay
    • Ellister Islay Highland Ponies
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #38 on: August 18, 2011, 02:51:20 pm »
Then why, when we sent our last two pigs to the abattoir, did they recommend hanging in the chill room for a full week ?
I thought ALL meat was best hung; we certainly do it that way.  And our "shed" is purpose built and immaculate, with a totally isolated chill room  :P

Lamb and beef clearly benefit from being hung, but most people do not think that pork does.  However there are some advocates of hanging pork who say that the flavour does improve, so you pays your money....

In any event, pork does need to be hung for a day or two to let the meat "set up" ie become firmer which allows much easier butchery.  Hanging for longer will not cause any problems, so hanging for a week (or even two) is fine.

Thanks for clarifying that, oaklandspigs - very helpful.



robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #39 on: August 22, 2011, 08:54:34 am »
janeislay  i should have said the pork has to hang for a minimum of one night but you can leave them in the chill for as long as you want or the slaughterhouse permits it to be there            it is law that the carcase hangs for a minimum of one night :farmer:

Blonde

  • Joined Mar 2011
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #40 on: August 23, 2011, 12:01:27 pm »
 A cool night under the eves of the house  is a good idea, just have it out of reach of 4 legged friends and a meat bag over the top of it and around it to keep out the unwanted visitors at night.

 Once the pig is slaughtered you can chill the meat and the next day cut it  up to suit.  Take the excess fat and put in the microwave amd turn the fat in to lard by rendering.

 Enjoy your pig and your home kill

Here in Oz we are allowed to do our own kill just not allowed to sell from a home kill!

tizaala

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • Dolau, Llandrindod Wells,Powys
Re: Anyone done a home kill ?
« Reply #41 on: August 28, 2011, 03:45:42 pm »
The only thing you cant use on a pig is the squeal, Dont waste anything. take the guts out carefully stick a hose pipe in one end and flush clean , you need these for casings for your own sausages and the blood for blackpuddings, boil the head remove the flesh cut small and mix with the jelly and some bayleaf and seasoning and press it to make chawl. same with the trotters, bake the ears and your dogs will love e'm
« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 06:50:52 am by tizaala »

 

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