When small abattoirs close, farmers lose options, animals travel miles and rare breeds, food miles and the ability to sell truly local meat are all threatened
When you throw some sausages or a steak on the barbecue, how much thought do you give to where the meat came from? Small abattoirs are critical to the UK’s food security and farming industry, yet they are in crisis.
When the last abattoir on the Isle of Wight closed earlier this year, it sent shock waves through the meat industry and created a significant logistics challenge for food producers, particularly in Southern England. North Dorset seemed miles away, but in fact the impact is being felt across the Blackmore Vale. So concerned was Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, that she led a Backbench Business Debate in Parliament urging the Government to act to save the UK’s small abattoir sector from collapse. Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Dyke demanded that the Government recognise the position of small abattoirs as a critical part of local food infrastructure. She also highlighted the impact that the alarming rate of closures is having on farming businesses and local food supply chains. ‘Small abattoirs are facing immense financial pressure and are operating under a regulatory system that is deaf to the realities smaller premises face,’ she said. ‘These businesses are the backbone of our local food infrastructure, yet many are being pushed to the brink.’
Several MPs, particularly those from farming communities, welcomed the debate on small abattoirs, and the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, confirmed that the Government was looking at support for these businesses.
But is it too little and too late?
Small abattoirs across the country are quietly closing their doors, hit by an ageing workforce, higher costs, and complex regulations. Even Jeremy Clarkson has noticed – in the latest season of Clarkson’s Farm he discovers that his local small abattoir has closed, forcing him and neighbouring farmers to collectively hire transport and send stressed animals further afield, adding pressure to already-stretched slaughterhouses.
Gaps in the map
Gavin Keen is the manager at Blackmore Vale Butchery in Henstridge and has worked in the meat industry since the age of 16. He recently researched the state of the abattoir industry in the South West.
‘It was an easy exercise,’ he said. ‘I had a map of the South West and marked all the abattoirs. There’s a gaping hole in the A303 corridor. Two of the large businesses I thought were operating are no longer. With those closures, and the Isle of Wight gone, all the work goes to Holnest now – and there simply isn’t enough spare capacity.
‘Whenever there’s funding to improve things, it’s often distributed by the wrong people who don’t understand what’s involved. The Isle of Wight is a huge missed opportunity.’
Farmers and particularly those with rare and smaller breeds are heavily dependent on smaller abattoirs – and Gavin says it goes beyond just basic capacity:
‘Farmers need small abattoirs – lots of them have breeds that don’t go into the commercial market. Some farmers have Dexter cattle, for example, for the beef quality and also because they’re quite docile to handle. But they are small in size, and a commercial abattoir won’t take them – they are set up to take larger animals. So what do these people do if they don’t have a small abattoir within reach?
We provide a butchery service for local farmers so they can sell their meat. But if there are no small abattoirs, this will inevitably affect the local meat supply.’
Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
With them every step
Lillie Smith and her husband Morgan raise rare Oxford Sandy and Black pigs at Ham Farm near Shillingstone. She told The BV that the fate of small abattoirs was a subject they had been discussing just recently: ‘As small scale producers, we pride ourselves on being with our animals every step of the way. Most people appreciate the benefits of local produce and traceability, but it’s more than that. If we didn’t have a local abbatoir – we use C&S Meats in Holnest – we wouldn’t be able to complete that cycle of local produce. We cannot fill a lorry to travel hours to a commercial abbatoir, nor can we sell pork on that scale!
‘If we didn’t have access to the abattoir, we would have to drastically reduce our herd. We are currently supporting a pedigree rare breed with seven sows and three boars – but that is symbiotic with the ability to produce local pork.
‘Environmentally, you cannot beat the minimal food miles of local produce – but that is completely lost if animals have to travel hours to be processed and then shipped again to producers.
‘Local abattoirs are an integral part of each area’s food production and they are so often overlooked – their place in our community would be quickly noticed if you couldn’t purchase local meat. Producers just wouldn’t have the ability to finish and sell locally.
Local abattoirs provide the consumer with options. You have the choice to buy in a supermarket, but also to buy produce from local farms. And as farmers, we are able to finish and sell our produce direct, locally.’
One rule for one
Sarah Dyke described a recent visit to an abattoir in Sussex, now so oversubscribed that farmers travel from Essex to use it. The operator served more than 2,000 customers in February alone, but struggles due to limited staff and space – and red tape from the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
‘The current FSA regulatory model penalises small processors,’ she said. ‘Having a local network of abattoirs is crucial for farmers, allowing them to add value to their product and access alternative routes to market.’
Gavin Keen agrees. ‘The rules set by the FSA are a challenge to small abattoirs,’ he says. ‘They are the same for large commercial and small abattoirs. Not all the regulations are needed in a small abattoir and that affects the business. If there were different levels that would really help. However, I should point out that there is only one standard for managing the livestock, regardless of the abattoir size – and that is to always respect the animal.’
Gavin’s research also confirms that small abattoir owners were getting older, with many working beyond retirement age and with no succession planning. He knows of one still working at the age of 77. ‘Younger people need to be educated at grass roots level on meat and how it’s supplied. And it’s really difficult getting someone into the industry. I have a young lad now who wants to do an apprenticeship, but I can’t get the support and there’s nobody here to do all the supervision.’
While 93 per cent of meat in Britain is slaughtered in large abattoirs, it’s the smaller ones that protect local food security, rare breeds and farm-to-fork traceability. If they go, we risk losing far more than local sausages.
You can buy Lillie’s pork and bacon products at Enford Farm Shop
