Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average distance that (a) pigs, (b) sheep, (c) cows and (d) poultry travel between farm and abattoir.
Answer
[holding answer 19 July 2007]: The average ‘as the crow flies’ distance from an agricultural holding to an abattoir in 2006 in Britain can be found in the following table:
| Animal | Batched distance (Kilometres) | Individual distance (Kilometres) |
| Pig | 55.6 | 82.6 |
| Sheep | 49.5 | 90.8 |
These figures have been derived from the Animal Movements Licensing System (AMIS) which records batch movements of sheep and pigs in England and Wales.In November 2002 and October 2003, the median estimated distance travelled by cattle from agricultural holdings to abattoirs was 55.42 km. This figure was derived from a Veterinary Laboratories Agency research project which analysed data from the Cattle Tracing System of Great Britain and represents distance travelled along the road network.Information on poultry is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.