‘Local’ meat warning

Calls for mobile abattoirs

Meat labelled “local” may have travelled hundreds of miles to be slaughtered, environmental campaigners warned, as they called for more efficient rules after Brexit. The Sustainable Food Trust is one of several groups calling for the introduction of “mobile abattoirs” to improve animal welfare

SIR – The Government has stated that it “prefers animals to be slaughtered close to the point of production, and considers that a trade in meat and meat products is more desirable than the long-distance transport of animals specifically for slaughter”.

To make this vision a reality, the Government must address the decline in the number of red meat abattoirs in Britain. There are only 245 such abattoirs remaining, down from 320 in 2003 and 1,890 in 1971.

Local abattoirs enable farmers to slaughter their animals closer to where they are reared, shortening journey times. This has clear welfare benefits and generates more money for the local rural economy.

Brexit presents an opportunity to create a system with less bureaucracy that would reduce costs and thereby sustain and strengthen smaller abattoirs, enabling consumers to choose locally sourced, high-quality meat produced in their communities.

The introduction of mobile or small on-farm slaughter units would also give this option to producers in areas where there are now no local abattoirs.

Patrick Holden

Chief Executive, Sustainable Food Trust Peter Stevenson

Chief policy advisor, Compassion in World Farming Jane Parker

Fir Farm, Gloucestershire Richard Young Kites Nest Farm, Worcestershire Paddy Hoare Perdix Partnership