Farmers protest at butcher shortage amid fears of pigs being killed ‘for waste’ as almost all Scottish animals sell at a loss
Pig farmers have protested outside the Conservative Party conference, arguing a lack of skilled butchers could lead to the "emotional and financial disaster" of tens of thousands of UK pigs being killed for waste.
Farmers have warned that a shortage of butchers could see up to 120,000 animals slaughtered on farms and then incinerated because they cannot go to the abattoir and they have nowhere left to house them.
Pig farmers were protesting outside the Tory conference in Manchester yesterday morning, calling for a temporary visa scheme to bring more butchers into the UK.
They held up placards saying: "No butchers. No bacon. No British pig industry."
Pig vet Duncan Berkshire, who was taking part in the pig farmers' protest, said: "We are here to ask the government to give us some shortterm Covid recovery visas of 12 to 18 months, which would allow that bottleneck to be unleashed and for us to not end up having to kill pigs on farm, which would be an absolute travesty when we want to get good, high welfare, quality-assured pork to UK consumers."
National Farmers Union Scotland’s Jamie Wyllie, speaking at the demonstration, said: “The labour crisis across the whole Scottish pig sector is driving a backlog of pigs on Scottish pig farms and a collapse in price that is rapidly eroding confidence. Almost all pigs are now being sold at a loss and the UK government must wake up and take immediate action to address the shortfall in staff that is crippling the sector.
“Staff shortages across pigs farms, haulage, abattoirs and meat processing is the biggest issue across the sector and one that NFU Scotland, alongside other stakeholders, has been repeatedly calling for the UK government to address. We need an immigration system that fully recognises the acute need for staff up and down the whole food supply chain and that butchers and food processors are every bit as deserving of visas as some of the industries currently listed on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List.
“We urge consumers to keep standing by and supporting our high standard, high welfare, local Scottish and British pork, and the many family farms that produce it.”