Slaughter/killing
RSPCA welfare standards
for domestic/common ducks
48 February 2015
* indicates an amendment
S(TV) 1.5
The recorded CCTV footage must be:
a) retained by the abattoir for a period of at least three months, and
b) available for viewing on site by Freedom Food field staff and RSPCA Farm Animals Department staff
on request.
Where possible it may be useful for managers to retain CCTV footage for longer than the three
months specified in standard S(TV) 1.5, for their own monitoring and security purposes.
Health monitoring
S 3.1 The level of the following must be recorded for each flock:
a) pododermatitis (classified as score 1 or above in the information box below S 3.2)
b) dirty feathers (classified as score 1 or above in the information box below S 3.2).
Lesions to the foot pad (pododermatitis) are caused by contact with litter which is both wet
and contains a high level of ammonia from faeces. Such lesions can cause pain and can act
as a gateway for bacterial infection.
The term 'flock' here refers to a group of ducks that are placed in a house of holding and
present in this house at the same time.