Animal Health and Welfare function

Animal welfare inspections carried out by your authority's Trading Standards / Animal Health and Welfare function at broiler (meat chicken) production holdings in the county of Lincolnshire, during the period 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026 inclusive (the most recent twelve full months).  
To keep the request within the appropriate cost limit, I am restricting the request to inspections at which one or more welfare non-compliances were recorded, regardless of the formal enforcement step that followed.

This is intended to capture inspections resulting in:

advice and guidance recorded as a result of a non-compliance,

a written warning or letter of advice,

an Improvement Notice under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 

a referral for prosecution,

a caution, or

any other sanction of equivalent or greater severity.

I am not requesting routine inspections at which no non-compliances were recorded.

For each inspection within scope, please provide:

1. The date of the inspection.

2. The trigger for the inspection (routine, risk-based, complaint-led, cross-compliance, follow-up, or other category recorded by you).

3. The full text of the inspection report, including findings and the specific welfare breaches identified (with personal data of individual keepers redacted as appropriate under section 40(2) FOIA). 

4. Information on welfare outcomes.

5. The County Parish Holding (CPH) number of the inspected premises. 

6. The type of action taken and the specific legislative provision(s) found to have been breached

7. Whether photographic or video evidence was taken during the inspection and is held by you. In the case of photographic or video evidence, please make it available to me through a channel of your choice.

8. The approximate flock size at the time of inspection, the stocking density in kg/m² if recorded, and the production system as recorded (e.g. indoor conventional, free-range, organic)

9. In addition, please state the total number of broiler welfare inspections carried out by your authority during the same period, regardless of outcome.

10. Also please state the total number of holdings for broiler (meat) chicken in your county.

1. During the period requested, 4 inspections at 2 premises resulted in recorded non-compliance. Of these:

• 3 inspections took place in 2025

• 1 inspection took place in 2026 The Council has withheld the specific dates.

This information is exempt under section 30(1)(a) and section 30(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

2. All four inspections were recorded as follow-up visits / re-visits.

3. This information is exempt under section 30(1)(a) and section 30(1)(b) for the reasons set out above. The inspection reports form part of investigation records held by Trading Standards in relation to compliance with animal welfare legislation and consideration of regulatory action.

4. All four inspections were recorded as minor non-compliance. Written advice was provided on all four inspections.

5. This information is exempt under section 30(1)(a) and section 30(1)(b). The Council also considers the information exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

6. Written advice was provided in relation to:

• Animal Welfare Act 2006

• Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007

7. The Council holds information within scope of this request.

8. Flock size: recorded in 3 of the 4 inspections within scope.

The recorded flock size was approximately 84,000 birds. Stocking density: not recorded. Production system: where recorded, indoor conventional.

9. The Council carried out 6 inspections at 3 premises in total.

Of these:

• 2 inspections were recorded as fully compliant

• 4 inspections were recorded as minor non-compliance

10. The Council does not hold definitive recorded information for the purposes of this request.