The Times - UK (2021-12-06)

the times | Monday December 6 2021 V2 13

News

More than two thirds of consumers
want labels on meat and dairy products
to show where animals were reared and
how they were slaughtered, surveys
show.
A government consultation closes to-
day on whether there should be compul-
sory welfare labels revealing whether a
product comes from animals reared in
indoor factory farms and whether they
were killed without being stunned.
A survey of 2,000 people commis-
sioned by Compassion in World Farm-
ing found that 68 per cent wanted labels
to show the conditions in which
animals were reared.
At present the only animal product
on which it is compulsory to state the
method of production is eggs. They
must carry labels stating whether they
are from hens kept in cages.
This requirement has helped to boost
sales of free range egg to more than half
the total and all the major super-
markets have committed to phasing out

Salmon and trout farms face new rules

to ensure that fish are slaughtered

humanely after undercover filming

showed many being mistreated and

dying slowly in pain.

Ministers are looking at welfare re-

quirements to ensure that fish do not

suffer stress and injury on the way to

slaughter facilities and that they are

stunned before being killed.

Welfare rules on slaughtering

animals exclude farmed fish. The UK

industry, which rears up to 80 million

fish a year, has instead adopted volun-

tary codes of practice.

The Times has revealed multiple

abuses during the slaughter of fish.

Trout were kicked on the ground as

they gasped last year at Test Valley

Trout Farming in Hampshire, which

supplied the Ritz and Harrods. The

company said the treatment of the fish

was unacceptable and it operated under

“the best industry standards available”.

Salmon reared by Scottish Salmon

Company, which supplied Waitrose

and the Co-op, were left to suffocate on

the floor, repeatedly clubbed and had

Shoppers want animal

welfare labels on meat

Ben Webster Environment Editor caged eggs by 2025. Sainsbury’s, the
Co-op, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer
have already switched to selling only
cage-free eggs.
A separate survey by the National
Secular Society (NSS), also of 2,
people, found 72 per cent wanted labels
to show how animals were slaughtered.
Abattoirs are required to pre-stun
animals to minimise suffering but there
is a religious exemption for meat in-
tended for Muslims and Jews.
Much of the meat produced for those
communities ends up being eaten un-
wittingly by people who do not share
their beliefs.
More than 120 million animals were
slaughtered without pre-stunning at
abattoirs in England in the 12 months to
September 2018, according to analysis
of Food Standards Agency figures by
the British Veterinary Association.
They included 118 million chickens,
3 million sheep and goats and 24,
cattle. The vast majority were slaugh-
tered using the Muslim halal method.
Most halal meat sold in the UK is from

animals that had some form of stun but

vets have questioned whether methods

approved by halal authorities are

effective.

All kosher meat certified in the UK is

from animals that were not stunned.

Three quarters of consumers (72 per

cent) do not realise that there is no re-

quirement to label meat as coming

from unstunned animals.

Most people (58 per cent) believe that

the religious exemption from the

requirement to stun animals should be

removed, according to the NSS survey.

Only 14 per cent supported the exemp-

tion being retained.

Stephen Evans, the NSS chief

executive, said: “The public over-

whelmingly considers non-stun

slaughter to be less ethical, and wants

labelling so they can avoid meat from

animals killed by such methods. The

government should implement clear

labelling to ensure consumers have this

choice.”

Compassion is a hallmark of a civilised

society, leading article page 29

Stricter rules on slaughtering

fish after undercover videos

Ben Webster their gills cut while still conscious. A

stunning machine at the company’s

plant on the Isle of Lewis failed to ren-

der them unconscious. Scottish Salmon

Company said that the footage from

late 2019 did “not in any way represent

the operations of the company”.

Slaughterhouses for land animals

must have CCTV and a vet on site.

Those requirements do not apply to fish

slaughter facilities.

The government has asked Animal

Welfare Committee (AWC) to review

the evidence and it is expected to call

for new rules. A Whitehall source said

that voluntary codes were insufficient

and new welfare measures would be in-

troduced.

Senior vets and scientists wrote last

week to the AWC urging it to re-

commend unannounced inspections

and CCTV at fish slaughter facilities.

James Russell, senior vice-president

of the British Veterinary Association,

said: “The government should provide

specific legislative protections for the

welfare of farmed finfish at slaughter.

We recommend UK governments

should include the stunning of farmed

fish.”

Justin

Packshaw and

Jamie Facer

Childs are

trying to cross

2,500 miles in

80 days. Below,

Packshaw in his

army days

T

o learn whether

humans could

live on the Red

Planet, Nasa is

turning to two

British adventurers as

they trek across an ice-

white wilderness (Rhys

Blakely writes).

Justin Packshaw, 57, a

former soldier, is leading

the Chasing The Light

mission, an attempt to

cross 2,500 miles of

Antarctica in 80 days via

the so-called Pole of

Inaccessibility, the most

isolated spot.

For the past three

weeks he has been

battling temperatures of

minus 35C and winds of

more than 100mph,

accompanied by Jamie

Facer Childs, 37, a doctor

and former army medic.

They are travelling by

foot and on skis, pulled

by kites and each

hauling a 200kg sled. “It

is a proper old-school

adventure, long in

duration and

unsupported,” Packshaw

told The Times via

satellite phone this week.

But this tale of

derring-do has a

futuristic twist:

Packshaw and Childs are

working with Nasa and

Stanford University to

gather data on how

humans cope — both

physically and

psychologically — when

pushed to their limits.

The project is built on

the idea that the

inhospitality and

fundamental strangeness

of Antarctica are

comparable to the

conditions that a new

generation of explorers

will face on the Moon or

Mars.

Packshaw and Childs

are undergoing tests

twice a week to check

how the stresses of the

journey impact their

cognitive function.

Samples of blood, saliva,

urine and faeces are

being stored away to

monitor their immune

systems. Their vital

signs, sleep and stress

levels are tracked via

smart watches.

Their eyesight is also

being tested as part of a

Nasa study into

“psychophysics” — the

relation between the

physical stimuli one

encounters and the

sensations and

perceptions they

produce.

Profoundly

unfamiliar landscapes

tend to throw us off.

Dr Katherine Rahill,

Senior Scientist at the

Nasa Human Research

Programme, uses the

example of the Apollo 14

astronauts Alan Shepard

and Edgar Mitchell.

While on the Moon in

1971, they initially

estimated a large crater

to be 200-300 yards

away from them.

They set out to collect

samples from the crater

rim but realised it was

actually more than a

mile away. They

abandoned their attempt

to reach it, turning back

to conserve resources.

Only later would they

realise they had been

only 50ft from their goal

when they aborted the

mission.

“Shepard and Mitchell

were unaware of how

close they were to the

edge of the crater, and it

was likely due to their

difficulty in perceiving

changes in

topographical depth of

the lunar surface,”

Rahill said. It is very

likely that the vast white

expanse of Antarctica

plays similar tricks on

polar explorers.

The expedition will

also gather data on the

polar environment for

the European Space

Agency (ESA), including

wind speed and

ultraviolet radiation

levels. “For much of

Justin’s journey,

measurements such as

temperature and surface

snow conditions simply

do not exist,” Dr

Malcolm Davidson of the

ESA said.

When The Times

spoke to the explorers

this week they were

about 300 miles into

their journey and

Packshaw was looking

out on to a “big, flat

mass of windswept,

gnarly ice”.

They cannot rely on

help being sent if they

run into trouble. The

weather conditions have,

at points, been savage,

and they must manage

their finite resources

with care. “When

Mother Nature flexes

her muscles out here, it’s

really quite an

impressive thing to

witness,” he said.

It’s not hard, then, to

see why Nasa regards it

as a respectable stand-in

for the extreme levels of

isolation, autonomy and

stress expected on the

eight-month journey to

Mars.

Yet as they trudge, in

the name of science,

towards the outer

bounds of human

endurance, he and

Childs seem to be

bearing up remarkably

well. “The irony is that

we’re loving it,”

Packshaw said. “We’ve

been having an

adventure and we’re

savouring every

moment.”

Ice trek

paves the

way for

mission

to Mars

500 miles Novolazarevskaya

South Pole of

Inaccessibility

South

Pole

Union

Glacier

ccee

i SouthS hhh Pole ofh

Weddell

Sea

Amundsen

Sea

ANTARCTICA

300 miles

completed

Hercules

Inlet