The guides will provide SME enterprises in the red meat processing industry with short pictorial guides to help underpin decision making about whether an animal is fit to process. In addition, the guides will include the steps to be taken if an emergency animal disease is suspected.
This project revealed strong stakeholder interest in animal welfare at Australian red meat processing plants. It has also revealed how difficult it can be to achieve agreement across broad stakeholder groups on such a topical issue.
Within this environment, the project has achieved its aim of developing “Is it fit to process?” guides for small to medium enterprises (SME) processing for the domestic market, as well as Tier 1 export processing plants. The guides will provide a benchmark as the processing industry continually improves animal welfare at Australian red meat processing plants.