Mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses has been shown to improve welfare standards by deterring violations, enabling remote monitoring, and providing evidence for welfare enforcement action.
Mandatory slaughterhouse CCTV represents one of the clearest welfare policy successes of recent years — a relatively low-cost intervention that produces measurable welfare improvements through deterrence and evidence gathering. The evidence from England suggests that both the direct detection of violations and the deterrent effect of knowing cameras are present contribute to better compliance. The remaining gap is the restriction of footage access to official vets on request, which limits the independent monitoring and transparency that would maximise the deterrent effect. Extending CCTV schemes to more countries and improving access arrangements would further improve welfare at the most welfare-critical point in the livestock production chain.