A Carlisle slaughterman has been fined for decapitating cattle before they were proved to be dead at a city abattoir.
John Gibson, 40, was caught on CCTV as he committed offences on four different dates in May last year.
Prosecutor Pam Ward told Carlisle Magistrates’ Court this morning how Gibson had been a licensed slaughterman working at an approved abattoir on the Kingstown Industrial Estate.
As part of the slaughter process, cattle are stunned before they have their throat cut, known as sticking. Once this has taken place, animals must be allowed to bleed out until an absence of signs of life was certified and 30 seconds had elapsed. They then have their head removed – known as dressing.
But during a routine review of camera footage, it emerged that Gibson hadn’t followed official guidance on May 14, 18, 20 and 21, 2021.
He had failed, said Mrs Ward, to allow cattle to bleed for the full 30 seconds.
In court, Gibson admitted four charges of causing or permitting a further dressing procedure or electrical stimulation on an animal before bleeding had ended.
He was not represented by a solicitor, and said in his own defence when asked for his comments: “I just got carried away when I was doing it.”
Magistrates fined Gibson, of Mount Pleasant Road, Carlisle, the sum of £583 and ordered him to pay costs and a mandatory victim surcharge.
Lead magistrate Jill Robinson said as the sentence was passed: “Mr Gibson, in your own words you got carried away; too engrossed in your work. However, animals have suffered because of your work.”
