Cows and pigs sent to EU for butchering as labour crisis deepens

Britain’s cattle farmers are getting forced to ship carcasses to the European Union for processing amid a shortage of butchers.

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Affiliation, claimed producers were being sending provides to Ireland exactly where they can be carved into cuts, right before reimporting them into the Uk.

Pork producers are also expecting to begin shipping pigs to the Netherlands for butchering in the newest sign of continual labour shortages in the Uk. Several staff have left the place due to the pandemic and Brexit.

Culling has ongoing at abroad abattoirs even with the Governing administration issuing 800 short term visas for butchers to enter the Uk for six months. The Governing administration is also funding chilly storage for carcasses.

Mr Allen instructed the Economical Periods that farmers “are just about retaining their heads earlier mentioned water at the moment”.

He extra: “The backlog is not obtaining any even worse, but it is not obtaining any far better.” He claimed staffing figures were being around 15pc beneath the norm.

Zoe Davies, chief executive of the Countrywide Pig Affiliation, claimed ten,000 wholesome pigs experienced been culled as a result of the backlog creating up on farms.

She extra piglets were being usually getting culled as they are a lot easier to approach, in particular to affordable goods these types of as lard relatively than more costly cuts that essential skilled butchers.

There have been warnings that up to one hundred twenty,000 pigs will need to have to be culled because the shortage of butchers is foremost to overcrowded ailments on farms that can distribute illness.

Farmers have called for laws to be loosened so they can slaughter their own meat, relatively than shipping them to centralised abattoirs and packing plants.

Existing rules imply farmers can only get rid of their own animals for consumption on the farm, and not to promote the meat commercially.