State visit
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Sultan of Oman will visit Windsor, as guests of Their Majesties The King and Queen, with preparations beginning on Monday 19 October 2026. Find out more.
I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025 inclusive.
This request concerns farmed animals within your local authority area and information held by your council, including Trading Standards or any other service responsible for farm animal welfare.
Please provide figures by calendar year where possible. If an annual breakdown is not available, please provide a total for the requested period.
1. Recorded animal welfare concerns
For each of the following issues:
• lameness in cattle;
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• tail docking of lambs or sheep;
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• beak trimming or beak treatment of hens or other poultry;
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please provide separately:
a. The number of complaints received in which the issue was recorded as an alleged animal welfare concern.
b. The number of inspections or investigations in which the issue was recorded as an animal welfare concern.
c. The number of cases in which your council took enforcement action in relation to the issue, with a breakdown by type of enforcement action.
Please include cases where the issue was recorded alongside other welfare concerns; it need not have been the sole or primary concern.
2. Red Tractor referrals
Please provide the number of referrals received from Red Tractor concerning animal welfare. Please include referrals recorded under “Assured Food Standards”, where applicable.
I am requesting aggregate counts only, not copies of inspection reports, complaints or individual case records.
Please distinguish between a recorded figure of zero and information that is not held or not separately recorded. Please briefly explain how the figures are counted, including whether repeat inspections or investigations relating to the same case are counted separately.