Animal Welfare Inspections and Prosecutions
Case reference FOI2026/01891
Received 7 August 2026
Published 20 August 2026
Request
I am writing to you to request the below information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
“The Authority” means Herefordshire Council.
Paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (“WOFAR”) sets out that:
Animals may only be kept for farming purposes if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without any detrimental effect on their health or welfare.
Further, regulation 4(1) requires that persons responsible for farmed animals must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the conditions under which they are bred or kept comply with Schedule 1.
Given that under regulation 8(1) a local authority may bring proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, we would be grateful if you could provide the following information in relation to how you monitor the compliance of persons responsible for farmed animals with paragraph 29 to Schedule 1:
1. When carrying out inspections of farmed animals for welfare purposes, does The Authority routinely assess compliance with paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the WOFAR? Please answer yes or no and, if so, explain how you assess compliance.
2. How many prosecutions has The Authority brought in the last five years for alleged breaches of paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the WOFAR by persons responsible for farmed animals?
3. Please provide a copy of the welfare inspection pro forma, checklist or any equivalent document used by The Authority when conducting the welfare inspections of farmed animals on farm premises.
Response
I am writing to you to request the below information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
“The Authority” means Herefordshire Council.
Paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (“WOFAR”) sets out that:
Animals may only be kept for farming purposes if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without any detrimental effect on their health or welfare.
Further, regulation 4(1) requires that persons responsible for farmed animals must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the conditions under which they are bred or kept comply with Schedule 1.
Given that under regulation 8(1) a local authority may bring proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, we would be grateful if you could provide the following information in relation to how you monitor the compliance of persons responsible for farmed animals with paragraph 29 to Schedule 1:
1. When carrying out inspections of farmed animals for welfare purposes, does The Authority routinely assess compliance with paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the WOFAR? Please answer yes or no and, if so, explain how you assess compliance.
Answer: The Service Area have advised, during Inspections, officers will be assessing the welfare of all animals they see, they will primarily assess the animals against the Animal Welfare ACT 2006 (AWA 2006) but also have regard to other pieces of legislation.
If an officer believes that an animal is suffering or its needs are not being meet with regard to section 4 and 9 of the AWA 2006 or the welfare of farmed animals 2007 an APHA vet will be called to attend and asked if the animal is suffering or likely to suffer if its circumstances don’t change. The officer would not act unless the vet could confirm animals are suffering or likely to suffer.
The officer would have to defer to the vet as to any breach of section 29 of Schedule 1 of WOFAR. While the officers will have the relevant code of practice for farmed animals in mind, the AWA 2006 allows for much stiffer penalties of up to 5 years in prison and the ability for the court to impose a disqualification (banning) order from the keeping of animals.
2. How many prosecutions has The Authority brought in the last five years for alleged breaches of paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the WOFAR by persons responsible for farmed animals?
Answer: Zero. The Service Area have advised our welfare prosecutions are taken under the AWA 2006. We would be unable to take action for the same welfare offence under 2 pieces of legislation.
3. Please provide a copy of the welfare inspection pro forma, checklist or any equivalent document used by The Authority when conducting the welfare inspections of farmed animals on farm premises.
Answer: This information is not held.
The Service Area have advised the following:
· We don’t use a proforma anymore and what we check on farm depends on the reason for our visit.
· We don’t carry out specific routine welfare inspections but do check the welfare of all stock during routine farm visits.
· During routine planned inspections we will check all items relevant to what their activities are on farm.
· During non-planned visits and when responding to complaints, we may only check things specific to our visit.
Documents
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