Western Morning News

Sector group gives voice to local abattoirs

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nesses”, through the provision of ‘private kill’ and the easy return of livestock products to farmers and collaborat­ors to add value to those products.

He added: “Small abattoirs are also an essential link in the supply chain of local, traceable and high welfare meat, which has seen a significan­t rise in consumer demand.”

Patrick Holden, chief executive of the Sustainabl­e Food Trust, whose report ‘A Good Life and a Good Death: Re-localising Farm Animal Slaughter’ launched in 2018 sparked the formation of the Campaign for Local Abattoirs, commented: “After three years of campaignin­g for local abattoirs we strongly welcome the establishm­ent of the new Abattoir Sector Group. Without a UK-wide network of small abattoirs, it will be impossible for farmers to deliver local, welfare friendly meat, with minimum distances to slaughter, which millions of people are now demanding.”

According to the Sustainabl­e Food Trust, a third of small abattoirs closed in the last ten years alone – with only around 62 now left in the UK. It warns that many more are on the brink as a result of one-size-fitsall regulation, rising costs and the collapse in value of hides and skins.

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