Staff shortages threaten uk abattoirs
By Naomi Schanen
UK slaughterhouses are closing down faster than ever. According to the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), between 10% and 15% of total jobs in the country’s meat processing industry are currently unfilled, compared to under 5% in 2017.
It was the toughest Christmas in recent years for UK abattoirs. Although staff numbers dropped rapidly over the last 12 months, supermarket orders and consumer demand didn’t.
“Livestock numbers are decreasing, margins are extremely tight in the industry and standards are being pushed ever higher, increasing cost,” says Nick Allen, CEO of the BMPA. “Given that scenario, efficiencies of scale make larger abattoirs more competitive and it puts pressure on the smaller ones.”
More and more UK slaughterhouses are shutting their doors.
According to Richard Young, policy director for Sustainable Food Trust, the number of abattoirs across the UK declined from 30,000 in 1930 to just 249 in 2017. Of this, only 56 small red meat abattoirs remain in the country, and local butchers are suffering.
“With fewer abattoirs around, it pushes the price up for everybody,” says Tom Richardson-Hill, butcher at Turner and George. “We buy from small, family-run slaughterhouses, but if the industrial abattoirs are struggling, there’s no doubt that the smaller ones will, too. That’s worrying.”
Closing down abattoirs is also affecting the animals themselves. The All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare state that the decline in slaughterhouses is forcing animals to endure cramped, unethical conditions.
Head campaigner Marisa Heath says: “There is a need for abattoirs of all sizes to ensure the sustainability of the UK meat business. It’s already becoming clear, however, that this isn’t just about the government, it’s about farmers, butchers and consumers coming together to support a more local method.”