The European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter was opened for signature in Strasbourg on 10 May 1979 as Council of Europe Treaty No. 102. The member States signatory hereto, considering that it is desirable to ensure the protection of animals which are to be slaughtered and that methods which as far as possible spare animals suffering and pain should be uniformly applied, agreed the text. It is not the 1976 European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes, nor the 1968 convention on international transport. The authentic texts are English and French, in a single copy deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General transmits certified copies.

Chapter I sets general principles. The Convention applies to the movement, lairaging, restraint, stunning and slaughter of domestic solipeds, ruminants, pigs, rabbits and poultry. A slaughterhouse is any premises under health control, intended for the professional slaughter of animals to produce meat for consumption or for any other reason. The definitions of moving, lairaging and restraint stay at the level of the legal frame; no procedures are transcribed.

The preamble ties protection to the sparing of pain and notes that fear, distress, suffering and pain inflicted during slaughter may also affect the quality of the meat. The Treaty Office records the purpose as helping to harmonise practices in Europe and make them more humane. The first set of provisions concerns treatment in slaughterhouses: suitable equipment for unloading; no brutalising or ill-treatment, in particular no striking of sensitive parts of the body; care for animals not slaughtered immediately on arrival; and the requisite facilities. No workshop regulation is transcribed.

The second set concerns the operation itself: slaughter must be effected so as to spare the animals any unnecessary suffering. As a general rule, stunning precedes bleeding. The Convention prohibits certain implements incompatible with that purpose and provides that large animals are not to be suspended or have their movements restricted before stunning outside the permitted frame. Methods, implements and working schemes are not listed.

Each Contracting Party may authorise derogations from prior stunning in limited cases, including slaughtering in accordance with religious rituals, emergency slaughter, and the slaughter of poultry, rabbits and other small animals; in those situations too, the principle remains that animals be spared unnecessary suffering. The same principles apply, according to the official summary, to slaughter outside slaughterhouses. No ritual or emergency handbook is transcribed.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe is depositary: he notifies signatures, deposits of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, the date of entry into force in accordance with Articles 20 and 21, territorial declarations and denunciations. The Convention was opened for signature by member States; the condition for entry into force is four ratifications by Council members. The Treaty Office records entry into force on 11 June 1982.

Cover: the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg, seat of the Council of Europe; the building opened in 1977, so it is contemporary with the place of signature. We do not claim the signing room. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter; European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter (ETS No. 102).