RSPCA calls for pig welfare consultation
The RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming have called for an urgent consultation.
The RSPCA has called on the UK government to deliver a consultation on pig slaughter methods, after a charity petition last year.
In July 2025, the RSPCA delivered a petition with more than 22,000 signatures to Downing Street, urging the UK government to phase out the use of high-concentration carbon dioxide (CO2) gas for stunning and killing pigs in slaughterhouses.
The charity says the aversive gas causes pigs ‘pain, fear and distress’. It describes pigs exposed to the gas as ‘gasping and convulsing’ before they lose consciousness.
It is now urgently calling for a more humane method than high-concentration CO2.
The 2003 FAWC report, conducted by the UK government’s welfare advisory body, recommended that CO2 was phased out more than 20 years ago. At the end of 2025, the UK government’s Animal Welfare Strategy for England committed to addressing the issue.
However, the RSPCA says that CO2 use has increased, accounting for 90 per cent of pigs slaughtered in the UK.
Thomas Schultz-Jagow, RSPCA director of advocacy and prevention, said: “Every year, millions of pigs suffer distress and pain when slaughtered using CO2, so this is a critical welfare issue.
“It is therefore beyond disappointing that almost a year after we handed in a petition backed by 22,000 animal lovers to Downing Street, there has still been no consultation, timeline, planned support for farmers, or clear indication of when the UK government intends to act on this vital animal welfare issue. We need to revolutionise pig welfare in England.”
Compassion in World Farming has joined the RSPCA in calling for a consultation.
Anthony Field, head of UK at Compassion in World Farming, said: “It is imperative that the UK government urgently bans the use of this inhumane slaughter method used to kill nine million pigs every year, when other methods are available that cause significantly less suffering."
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has maintained its commitment to a consultation on banning the practice, and the possible timescales for the initiative. It is set to release further details later this year.
A Defra spokesperson said: “The government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter.
“As set out in the government’s animal welfare strategy, we will be consulting on a set of reforms including pig stunning methods.”
Image © RSPCA
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