VEGETARIAN protesters from across the North of England gathered in York for a demonstration against the conditions they say are widespread in slaughterhouses.

About 40 supporters of the group Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) staged their protest outside the national headquarters of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) in Peasholme Green.

The service is responsible for monitoring conditions in about 500 slaughterhouses across the United Kingdom using a network of vets.

Viva! claims the service took a year to respond to a video of undercover footage.

It says its video showed that animals were inadequately stunned in slaughterhouses and regained consciousness.

But the Meat Hygiene Service says investigations were carried out immediately the video was received, and that the service then spent a year preparing a detailed reply.

Jane Downes, acting director of veterinary services with the MHS, said she believed all the animals on the video had been stunned adequately. She said animals often moved about in reflex actions after they had been stunned, but this did not mean they had regained consciousness.

She said the sign of regaining consciousness was breathing normally and this could not be seen from the video - a view that Viva! says means the animals could have been breathing again.

Ms Downes said: "Our staff are there as enforcement officers. If they see anything occurring that would cause harm to an animal they would take immediate action to stop that happening."

She said the service had the power to suspend a slaughterhouse's licence immediately.

It was also audited itself by the Food Standards Agency and by the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission.

Becky Smith, Viva!'s senior campaigner, said she had received a letter in response to the video in January, but it did not tell her what the service had investigated.

It wasn't until last Friday, a year after the video was submitted, that she received a fuller response.

The MHS says that the delay was caused by the onset of foot and mouth disease a few weeks after the January letter, but Ms Smith said there were several weeks when they could have contacted Viva!

She said: "We're not happy with their response. We're concerned they could be ignoring other problems."

Demonstrators also protested outside two York Shell garages while they were in the city.

They said they were protesting about experiments on animals taking place at Huntingdon Life Sciences, on behalf of Shell.

They stood at the entrances to the Shell garages near Boroughbridge Road and in Hull Road before and after the Viva! protest.

Updated: 10:55 Friday, August 31, 2001