Question follow-through · 24991

Cattle and Sheep: Euthanasia

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many i) cattle and ii) sheep have been euthanased by shooting, by their department in each of the last 3 years for welfare concerns.

answeredDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Tabled
28 Aug 2026
Target answer date
2 Sept 2026
Answer
4 Sept 2026 · 7 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

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Recorded timeline

  1. 28 Aug 2026

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many i) cattle and ii) sheep have been euthanased by shooting, by their department in each of the last 3 years for welfare concerns.

  2. 2 Sept 2026

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 4 Sept 2026

    Answer published

    Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officers would only dispatch animals by shooting in rare and complex animal welfare cases and during depopulation. There are no central records of cattle or sheep killed by shooting by APHA for animal welfare reasons ...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

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