Countryside Alliance backs the Campaign for Local Abattoirs

Small abattoirs provide multiple public goods and are essential to the future of local, traceable meat production in the UK.

Yet as a report by the Sustainable Food Trust shows, without urgent action there will soon be no small abattoirs left in large parts of the country. A third of small abattoirs have closed in the last decade and more are continuing to go out of business. This undermines the ability of farmers to diversify and sell meat locally, it raises questions for animal welfare, as livestock are transported further and it can dramatically increase costs for producer-retailers. If the producers are to stay in business, these extra costs must be passed on to consumers, and there are limits to how much more consumers will pay.

The Campaign for Local Abattoirs (CFLA) was established to help address this issue and to maintain and expand the UK's network of smaller, local abattoirs and explore the possibility of mobile abattoirs and on-farm slaughter. The Countryside Alliance fully supports this campaign and we recently called on the Government to support more small abattoirs, rather than introduce a ban on animal exports.

The aim of CFLA is to persuade the public and the government of the importance of local abattoirs and the many benefits they bring. These benefits include boosting local rural economies, providing the important service of private kill which allows farmers to sell their own meat direct to consumers, providing a wider range of cuts (including offal) and helping to ensure a viable future for more specialised and heritage livestock breeds. Local abattoirs also reduce the distance livestock have to travel and minimise costs for farmers.

There are many opportunities already within the current legislation to make changes that would have a beneficial impact on small and mobile abattoirs. As current regulation takes a 'one size fits all' approach, ways must be found to make the situation fairer, particularly when rules designed for large abattoirs are also applied to small abattoirs, without any assessment of the actual risks involved, increasing their workload and costs and putting them under unnecessary pressure.

The CFLA say we need a new approach to the regulation of small abattoirs and we need action urgently, otherwise there will be no small abattoirs left in many regions. Several more red meat abattoirs have already closed this year and others are considering closure. There is an emerging consensus that this is a priority issue, but it must be approached systemically, we can't just change little things. This is our last chance, we've got to make it sustainable and long term.

Some progress has been made, with many organisations, politicians and individuals now recognising this is an important issue and pledging to help address it. For more information on what's been happening and how things are progressing please visit the Sustainable Food Trust campaign page here, or the CFLA website here, and sign up to the campaign newsletter here.