Up to £60,000 grant offer to upgrade small abattoirs

Capital grants of up to £60,000 are now available under the government’s small abattoir fund, to help operators in England improve productivity, enhance animal welfare, add value to primary products and encourage new technologies.

With a total budget of £4m, the fund will support the purchase of a diverse range of capital investments, including cold storage units to expand refrigeration capacity for processing, allowing abattoirs to increase production rates and reduce farmer waiting times.

See also: How can the small abattoir sector be saved?

The fund will also help improve facilities for stressed or fatigued animals to recover from loading and transport operations, so advancing animal health and welfare standards.

Defra farming minister Mark Spencer said: “England’s abattoirs are critical to livestock farmers who provide their high-quality products to local butchers and farm shops up and down the country.

“This £4m fund will not only help smaller abattoir and mobile business owners to innovate, invest and improve standards, but it will give farmers, particularly those who produce native and rare breeds, more stability in getting their products to market.”

Response 

The grants, which start at £2,000, have been welcomed by meat processing and farming groups.

John Mettrick, chairman of the Abattoir Sector Group, said it demonstrated that government recognises the importance of small abattoirs to farmers, butchers and the whole rural supply chain.

“I would urge abattoir businesses to take advantage of the fund to help develop their businesses for the future,” he said.

Rare Breeds Survival Trust chief executive Christopher Price said the grants offered a “lifeline” to small abattoirs, which had been in serious decline for decades. But the fund was not a silver bullet.

“The local abattoir network also needs to see government tackle the issues around the regulatory burden smaller abattoirs face,” said Mr Price.

“In particular, government needs to be looking at the opportunities to address concerns regarding the quality, cost and consistency of Official Vet supervision.”

Application window

The application window for the Smaller Abattoir Fund will remain open for nine months, and abattoirs will be able to submit up to three applications up to the maximum funding level of £60,000.

The Rural Payments Agency will email all eligible smaller abattoirs directly within the coming days, outlining the application process.