Farmers fears as closure of independent abattoir spells start of business problems
The closure of an independent abattoir that has been in business for more than a hundred years over five generations will spark anxiety amongst farmers who rely on such operations for their own livelihoods.
Mettrick’s abattoir in Glossop on the South Yorkshire border closed on Wednesday with the butcher, who ironically champions the fight to save small abattoirs in his other roles, saying increasing regulations and red-tape and inexperienced vets have created conflict causing staff to become demoralised and leave.
It is an industry that is already suffering labour shortages and, in John Mettrick’s case, has seen his fully qualified slaughterman along with two fully qualified butchers leave the industry giving him no choice but to close the abattoir.
He has said: “The Food Standards Agency (FSA) acknowledges that the present one size fits all system does not work and through a five-year programme say they hope to be able to deliver a risk based proportional approach to regulation in the future.
“However, this will require legislative change to have any chance of a meaningful impact. The refusal from the UK Government to utilise even existing legislation to support small abattoirs means that in the meantime many, like my own, will have no choice but to close.”
By Emma Ryan / Yorkshire Post