Six people have been charged with aggravated trespass after a protest at a pig abattoir.

Operations at the pig processing plant run by Cranswick Country Foods in Watton, Norfolk, were disrupted when animal rights protesters made their way into the site at around 6am on Wednesday.

By early afternoon, Norfolk Police had arrested seven people at the Brandon Road facility, and six have now been charged.

The six arrested have all been charged with aggravated trespass and are due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on 10 May.

A seventh person, a woman in her 20s, has been bailed on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass and will appear at Wymondham police investigation centre on 2 July.

 

 ITV News Anglia

 

Also: Vegan Activists Occupy Cranswick Abattoir, Seven Arrested

Police have been called to a Norfolk abattoir where anti-meat demonstrators are staging a protest above one of the slaughterhouses.

 

Ollie Radcliffe | Eastern Daily Press

Also:

Six Charged Following Protest at Cranswick Abattoir

Arrests after activists bring slaughterhouse to standstill

The EU-spec SPP has dropped back again, but the most eye-catching part of the latest of AHDB’s market data is the drop of in estimated slaughter numbers. 

If these turn out to be accurate – and they are often revision – weekly GB slaughterings, at 141,000 for the week ended March 16, appear to be at the lowest level outside of Christmas and New Year since April 2010.

Estimated GB slaughterings for the week were nearly 6,000 down on the previous week, 20,000 below the same week a year ago and 34,000 below the 2022 figure.

The drop off appears to be a combination of the vastly reduced breeding herd, combined with, according to last week’s PIG meeting, productivity issues, partly the result of the relentless wet weather.

The SPP lost 0.18p to stand at 211.31p/kg during the week ended March 16, following the previous week’s 00.16p increase. It has been extremely stable since the end of January, when it stood at 211.38p/kg, fluctuating up and down by tiny amounts since, and is now roughly back to where it was.

It is now, however, for the first time in a very long time, now more than 1p behind the SPP of a year ago, which stood at 212.53p/kg, at a time when pig prices were still rising at a decent rate.

The much more volatile APP, which includes premium pigs, gained 1.2p during the week ended March 9 to stand at 211.63p/kg, cancelling out the declines of the previous fortnight. This put it back ahead of the SPP for the week by just 0.14p/kg.

Despite the latest reverse, many within the industry remain optimistic that the combination of tightening supplies and rising EU markets will support the market over the coming weeks.

 

Alistair Driver | National Pig Association

 

Vincent ter Beek | Pig Progress

Weekly pig prices and slaughter data for Great Britain. 

The EU-spec SPP was down by a further 1.62p during the week ended October 14 to stand at 220.12p/kg, after stabilising the previous week.

This was the second biggest fall of the year, meaning the SPP has now lost 5.5p since mid-August and currently stands 20p ahead of a year ago.

Following the previous week’s loss of 1.5p, the APP, which includes premium pigs, lost another 0.61p to stand at 221.08p/kg during the week ended October 7. This meant the gap between the two price indexes increased once again, with the SPP now 0.65p ahead of the APP, as the reversal of the usual relationship continues.

One of the biggest drivers in the decline of UK prices is falling EU prices. The EU reference price dropped back by a further 2p during the week ended October 8 to stand at 193.78p/kg, led by falls of 4p in Spain, 3p in Germany and 2p in France.

EU prices are falling much more quickly than in the UK. The EU reference price is now nearly 22p down on its mid-July high and the latest drop has increased the gap between the UK and EU reference prices to beyond 25p, compared with low of just 6p during the week ended July 23. Prices in a number of EU countries, led by Germany, fell back further last week.

Estimated GB slaughterings remain well below year earlier levels. The figure for the week ended October 14 was down by more than 1,000 on the week, and at 160,300, it was 27,500 down on the same week in 2022.

It also needs to noted that AHDB’s estimated slaughterings going back for a few weeks have been significantly revised downwards, including the figure quoted last week for the week ended October 7, 169,000, which has been lowered to 161,600, also 27,000 down year-on-year.

 

 

Pig World / AHDB

The UK has lifted reinforced inspections on meat products from Brazil after analyzing the country’s control system.

The decision covers consignments of beef, poultry, and meat products and preparations exported from Brazil to England, Scotland, and Wales. It comes after an audit of Brazil’s sanitary and phytosanitary controls.

Following allegations of fraud in Brazil in 2017 during Operation Carne Fraca, measures were implemented for enhanced checks on certain imported animal products.

For beef and poultry meat products from Brazil, exports to Great Britain no longer need enhanced pre- and post-import testing for Salmonella or the added attestation attached to health certificates confirming Salmonella sampling, methods of analysis used, and results.

Post-import physical checks for poultry and beef products will be reduced from 100 percent physical and 20 percent microbiological sampling. Brazil can now re-list certain poultry and beef sites for export to Great Britain.

Auditors visited central and regional authorities, two certification centers, eight slaughterhouses, four other businesses, two farms, and four laboratories. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA) leads official controls and certification of exports of animals and animal products. The Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA) is responsible for managing the Brazilian Federal Inspection Service (SIF).

Brazilian authorities have made “significant” progress in correcting the systemic failings in the framework of controls and their application that led to enhanced Salmonella controls. According to Defra, changes to legislation and a restructuring of the authorities have strengthened the regulatory oversight of exports and clarified accountabilities.

By Joe Whitworth | Food Safety News

Pilgrim’s UK Ashton-under-Lyne pork processing site will process pigs for the last time today, as the sector called the firm’s decision ‘disappointing’.

Pilgrim’s Ashton site will kill pigs for the last time on Friday (7 July), with existing operations transferring to the company’s abattoir and butchery facilities in Spalding and Westerleigh.

Pilgrim’s UK announced proposals to close the 70-year-old abattoir and butchery facility in Greater Manchester in May, leaving more than 500 members of staff potentially facing redundancy.

“Pilgrim’s UK has been working closely with the site team and customers to ensure we maintain quality and service levels throughout this process,” the company said.

Pilgrim’s UK, one of the UK’s largest food businesses, had shut down its Bury St Edmunds and Coalville sites last year.

The UK pork sector continues to face the most significant challenges in its history, with the UK sow herd having contracted by around 15%.

 

 

by Farming UK

The NPA is seeking clarity on whether the regionalisation approach in the EU would apply to pork exports in the event of an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the UK.

Under the EU’s ASF regulations, where an outbreak occurs, the sale of pork products from the affected region to other member states is outlawed. However, exports can continue from regions of the country not affected by ASF to other parts of the EU.

This rule has been applied in a number of member states that have experienced ASF outbreaks in recent years, including Germany, Italy and Poland. The UK continues to import pork from ASF-free regions of affected countries.

But it remains unclear what the situation is following the UK’s departure from the EU. UK regionalisation in the event of ASF will be part of the Disease of Swine Regulations expected to be laid before parliament next year.

NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said more immediate answers are needed. “We don’t know if our trading partners would recognise regionalisation if we had an outbreak now. We need clarity on this because, if we don’t have regionalisation, it could mean a virtual blanket ban on pork exports from anywhere in the UK – and that would be catastrophic for a sector that has already suffered so much over the past two years.”

 

Alistair Driver / NPA

Pilgrim’s UK has announced it will produce over four million pork products in the run up to Christmas to keep up with a surge in consumer demand.

With the cost-of-living crisis leaving many families cash-strapped, the festive period could bring a boost to red meat, particularly to pork.

It follows warnings this week of a shortage of free range turkeys and price rises due to the country’s largest ever bird flu outbreak.

Pilgrim’s UK, a major pork processor, said these issues had left consumers looking for more affordable meat options to take centre stage at the dinner table this year.

The firm anticipates an increase in demand for pork, such as gammon, which is expected to see a 25% uplift in volume, as well as pork crackling joints.

Fresh pork has increased its share of the wider protein category over the past four weeks to 13.3% in terms of volume compared to the last four weeks of December 2021.

 

Farming UK

Food Standards Agency (FSA) staff will not be striking over pay in the run up to Christmas, following a ballot of UNISON members, in what will come as a huge relief to the meat industry.

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, had warned that the dispute involving several hundred inspectors, vets, and office-based staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could result in strikes in the run up to and over Christmas leading to less meat on supermarket shelves.

Earlier in the year, FSA staff voted to reject a pay offer of between 2% and 5%. UNISON said this was significantly lower than inflation, currently 9.9%, and falls short of the 10% pay claim it put forward.

But the three-week ballot of FSA employees, which closed on Monday (October 31), fell short of the numbers required to bring about strike action.

A UNISON spokesperson said: “Staff showed strong support for taking action over their inadequate pay offer, but by the narrowest possible margin, turnout didn’t meet the legal threshold.”

 

 

by Alistair Driver / Pig World