Hidalgo farmed-animal & slaughterhouse law
Law & Regulation
In Effect
June 7, 2022
Summary
On 7 June 2022, the Congress of the State of Hidalgo approved reforms to the Ley de Protección y Trato Digno para los Animales en el Estado de Hidalgo and related state Penal Code provisions, adding a chapter dedicated to farmed animals and slaughterhouses — the state’s first dedicated framework for animals kept “para abasto” (for consumption). The reform added explicit cruelty categories covering farmed animals — deprivation of food and water, confinement conditions causing injury or stress, pain-causing procedures outside specified exceptions, and slaughter without prior effective stunning — mandated video surveillance in slaughterhouse areas where animals are kept and slaughtered, and criminalised operating clandestine slaughterhouses. The law’s coverage explicitly names bovines, porcines, ovines, caprines, poultry, and other species kept for food production. Animal Equality campaign materials state the reform affects nearly 50 million pigs, cows, chickens, hens, lambs, and other food animals annually in Hidalgo — a campaign-reported figure not independently verified in sources consulted. The 2022 reform remains embedded in Hidalgo’s consolidated statute text, with later amendments added in 2024 and 2025.
Background Context
Before the 2022 reform, Hidalgo’s animal protection law contained general provisions on animal possession, transport, and slaughter but lacked a dedicated chapter addressing farmed animals and slaughterhouse operations specifically. Animal Equality documented conditions at a municipal slaughterhouse in Tizayuca, Hidalgo in October 2021 and filed complaints with both federal and state authorities. The organisation’s Mexico team subsequently campaigned for legislative reform from December 2021, leading to the June 2022 statute amendments. A 2024 Animal Equality report and press release document continued complaints about slaughterhouse cruelty in Hidalgo following the reform, indicating ongoing enforcement or compliance concerns, though these subsequent reports do not alter the legal status of the 2022 reform itself.
System Impact
System Scale Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Modifies Conditions
Significance
Moderate
The Congress of Hidalgo approved the reform on 7 June 2022; the exact gazette publication date of the amending decree is not fully resolved in sources consulted. The reform was promulgated into Hidalgo’s official legal compilation by the state executive branch, with enforcement responsibility held by the Procuraduría Estatal de Protección al Ambiente and municipal governments, and technical and registry functions assigned to the state Secretariat. A 2024 Animal Equality report documents continued complaints about slaughterhouse cruelty in Hidalgo, indicating ongoing compliance and enforcement activity following the reform. Later amendments to the same statute were added in 2024 and 2025, outside the scope of this record.
Anticipated Effects
If implemented as written and enforced, the reform would increase the legal exposure of farm and slaughterhouse operators in Hidalgo to inspection, evidence gathering, and criminal sanctions for the newly defined cruelty categories and the mandatory video surveillance requirement.
Whether the reform has produced measurable changes in slaughterhouse stunning compliance, farm husbandry conditions, or the prevalence of clandestine slaughter operations in Hidalgo is not established in available sources; the 2024 Animal Equality report of continued complaints suggests compliance and enforcement issues persist but does not quantify trends since 2022.
Significance Rationale
The reform applies statewide across Hidalgo, covers the full range of commercially farmed species (bovines, porcines, ovines, caprines, poultry), and introduces both husbandry-condition standards and slaughterhouse oversight mechanisms (video surveillance, stunning requirements) for the first time in the state’s legal framework. Sources do not document a quantified change in animal numbers or facility counts attributable to the reform.
Within The System
Key Actors
The Congress of the State of Hidalgo approved the reform; the Hidalgo executive branch promulgated it into the official legal compilation. The Procuraduría Estatal de Protección al Ambiente and municipal governments are the named enforcement bodies; the state Secretariat holds technical and registry functions. Animal Equality and its Mexico team documented slaughterhouse conditions in Tizayuca and campaigned for the reform from December 2021.
Notice an inaccuracy or omission?
If you believe information on this page is incorrect, incomplete, or missing important context, you may submit a suggested correction for review.