Animals could be buried alive, warns RSPCA

Animals could be buried alive in the mass cull aimed at stamping out the foot-and-mouth crisis, the RSPCA warns.

The British charity says it has "grave concerns" about many aspects of the slaughter.

It wants inspectors to be allowed to oversee the killing to ensure it is done humanely.

"Animals must be killed and not simply stunned without any further action to ensure immediate death," said RSPCA chief veterinary officer Chris Laurence.

"If the animal's nervous system is not destroyed in a process known as 'pithing' then it is possible the animal could gain some awareness and feel pain."

This leads to the potential "horror scenario" of animals being put into the burial pits while still having a degree of awareness, he said.

"We are gravely concerned about many aspects of the slaughter. Ideally we would want these animals to be killed on the farm where they would be spared the stress of a journey to the burial sites and exposure to an unfamiliar environment."

Mr Laurence says the charity has been inundated with calls from the public raising concerns about the slaughter programme: "It is vital that inspectors and other RSPCA staff are given the opportunity to observe the cull. We need to be satisfied that animals are not suffering."

The Society is also concerned about the use of rifles in the slaughter as it fears some bullets may miss their aim and not kill the animal outright: "We have received reports of terrified cattle being chased to one end of a barn and shot with rifles with animals clambering over one another in their panic."

Mr Laurence said a GP from the south west of England had contacted the RSPCA after counselling farmers who had witnessed very poor slaughter technique: "Clearly this is unacceptable and we are urging farmers to contact us directly if they wish to make a cruelty complaint."