14 October 2026
All members of the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) are invited to attend our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and hear an update on our work, followed by a panel discussion on pragmatism bias in animal welfare science.
The AGM and Science update will be held at 17:30 on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at St Bride Foundation, London.
29 September 2026
Time is running out to secure your place at our 2026 Conference taking place on 20-21 October 2026 at The Catalyst, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The two-day event will bring together researchers, practitioners and policy makers working to improve the welfare of animals during transport and slaughter.
23 April 2026
HSA will be attending:
National Beef Expo, 27 April
Pig and Poultry,15-16 May
Welsh Smallholding and Country Festival,18-19 May
22 December 2025
We are delighted to see that Defra's new Animal Welfare Strategy for England includes commitments to ban high-concentration CO₂ for stunning pigs and to introduce specific, enforceable legislation to protect the welfare of farmed fish at slaughter. We are also pleased to see commitments to improve the welfare of decapod crustaceans at slaughter, including clarification that live boiling of crabs and lobsters is not acceptable. All of these measures are vital reforms that will prevent millions of animals each year from experiencing avoidable pain and distress at the time of slaughter.
31 October 2025
We are delighted to see a strong recommendation from the UK Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) which calls for a ban on the use of CO₂ to stun pigs. The report, to which we contributed evidence, echoes our calls for a ban with a phase-out period that should be as short as possible and within five years. The evidence has long been clear that CO₂ is not a humane method of slaughter for pigs, and there is now clear evidence that alternatives are both more humane and practical.
29 August 2025
The HSA is contributing expertise to a major new study that aims to improve the welfare of poultry during catching and handling on farms throughout Britain.
