News • Sustainable Farming Campaign
“Stop closing small abattoirs”
The Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) urges the government to save small local abattoirs.
Speaking at the Future of UK Farming Conference the SFT said that “the continuing decline of small abattoirs is bad for animal welfare and runs against the growing public demand for local, traceable meat.“
Earlier this year the SFT (who are a member of Sustain) published a report into re-localising farm animal slaughter. The report found that over the last decade more than a third of small abattoirs have closed. In England there are just 63 small abattoirs left, down from 96 in 2007. Two further small abattoirs have already closed this year in Scotland. In total the number of all red meat abattoirs has fallen to 249 from 320 in 2007 and almost 1,900 in 1970.
At the Future of UK Farming Conference Environment Secretary Michael Gove was asked about the closures of small abattoirs. According to SFT Mr Gove responded that ‘there are discussions about how animals could be killed closer to where they were raised, but gave no commitments.’
Sustain campaigns for a food and farming policy which benefits the environment, health, animals and farmers.
Published Friday 4 May 2018
Sustainable Farming Campaign: Sustain encourages integration of sustainable food and farming into local, regional and national government policies.
