RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) · UK · Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersRCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) is a licensing and registration exam run by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, for candidates in UK. Written (online, remotely proctored, March): 367 single-best-answer vignettes with 5 options, about 2 hours per domain paper, no negative marking, no compensation between domains. Plus an open-book Code of Professional Conduct paper: 60 MCQs, 2 h 15 min. OSCE (September, in person, 5-7 days): 15-20 minute stations with two examiners each.
Source: rcvs.org.uk.
Checked against the exam body's published information. Formats and fees change; confirm the current edition there before you book.
Welfare at slaughter as applied cases: stun positions, signs of effective stunning and recovery, stun-to-stick interval, gas stunning of pigs, poultry water-bath stunning faults, lairage design, the law on religious slaughter; animal by-product categories.
From live animal to packaged meat: abattoir design, stunning and slaughter, carcass fabrication, the conversion of muscle to meat, meat and poultry products, and by-products including wool.
Our 22 RCVS Statutory Membership Examination questions in this subject: 2 easy, 11 medium, 9 hard, across 8 units.
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
These 10 were written to RCVS Statutory Membership Examination and are not shown on any other exam's page.
A pig carcass has a muscle pH of 5.6 at 45 minutes after sticking while the carcass is still about 40 degrees C. The pork will most likely be:
C. Pale, soft and exudative
A fast pH fall to below about 5.8-6.0 while the muscle is hot denatures proteins and gives PSE meat. DFD results from a high ultimate pH; cold shortening needs chilling of pre-rigor muscle below about 10 degrees C. The problem is the rate, not the end point.
Under EU hygiene rules, knife sterilisers in slaughter halls must use water at a temperature of not less than:
C. 82 degrees C, or an alternative system with equivalent effect
Regulation (EC) 853/2004 requires facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water at not less than 82 degrees C, or an equivalent alternative. 63 and 72 degrees C are milk pasteurisation temperatures.
Which lairage feature best reduces the balking of cattle moving to the stunning box?
B. Curved, solid-sided races with even lighting and no reflections or shadows
Cattle balk at shadows, reflections, bright spots and people seen ahead. Solid sides and curved races use their tendency to follow and return toward where they came from. Goads increase stress and are restricted by welfare law.
Immediately after captive bolt stunning, a steer shows rhythmic breathing and blinks when the cornea is touched. The correct action is to:
A. Re-stun it at once with a backup device
Rhythmic breathing and a corneal reflex are signs of consciousness or a failing stun. Welfare law requires immediate re-stunning; collapse alone does not prove unconsciousness.
Under Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009, the minimum current for head-only electrical stunning of pigs is:
C. 1.30 A
The Annex I minimum currents for head-only stunning are 1.28 A for cattle of six months or more, 1.00 A for sheep and goats, and 1.30 A for pigs. Other countries set their own values.
Which statement about controlled-atmosphere stunning of poultry is correct?
A. Birds can be stunned in their transport modules, avoiding live shackling
Controlled-atmosphere systems expose birds in crates or modules to staged CO2 or inert gases, so shackling happens after unconsciousness. That is the main welfare advantage over water-bath stunning.
Which of the following would invalidate the cut in shechita?
D. Pausing during the cut
Pausing (and pressing, covering the knife, cutting outside the proper zone or tearing) invalidates shechita. A long knife is required, lung inspection (bedikah) follows slaughter, and shechita is performed without stunning.
Under EU Regulation 853/2004, red meat carcasses must be chilled, before cutting or transport (unless exceptions apply), to an internal temperature of not more than:
B. 7 degrees C
The EU limits are 7 degrees C for red meat carcasses, 3 degrees C for offal and 4 degrees C for poultry meat. Other countries set their own targets.
Rumen contents and manure from an abattoir in the EU are classified as Category 2 animal by-products. A suitable use is:
A. Composting or biogas production after the required processing
Category 2 material may go to composting, biogas or fertiliser under conditions. Pet food uses only Category 3; feeding such material to animals or humans is not permitted.
Chilled vacuum-packed lamb shows swollen, gas-filled packs after five weeks at minus 1 degree C, with no leaks. The organisms most likely responsible are:
B. Psychrotrophic clostridia such as Clostridium estertheticum
Blown-pack spoilage at chill temperatures is caused by psychrotrophic clostridia producing gas. Pseudomonas need oxygen; S. aureus and Salmonella do not grow at minus 1 degree C.
This plan follows where our questions actually fall, so the time goes where the marks are likely to be. It is our reading of the syllabus, not the exam body's weighting.
Read the manual chapters for these first and do every worked question you can find on them.
Aim for one sitting per unit, then mixed questions across them.
Learn the definitions, classifications and standard numbers; these units are more often recalled than worked.
Come back to these after a first pass, untimed, and read every explanation, including for the options you rejected.
Do these early in revision so they are fast on the day.
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