Mull abattoir future secured thanks to Prince’s grant

The future of an invaluable slaughterhouse and butchery service on the Scottish Isle of Mull has been secured thanks to financial support from the Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF).

The PCF has awarded £10,000 and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund has also offered grant support to help protect the future of Mull Slaughterhouse.

One of only 107 small abattoirs in the UK, Mull Slaughterhouse employs five people and provides an essential service to local food producers in Argyll & Bute and the Highlands and Islands.

See also: Farmers work together to save local abattoir from closure

Its closure would require livestock to travel a further 145 miles by road and ferry to the Central Belt, leading to unnecessary stress to the animals and added transport costs for farmers.

Claire Saunders, PCF director, said the fund was “deeply concerned” with ensuring that the critical role local abattoirs play in their economies is recognised, safeguarded and that they have a sustainable future.

“Many butchers, farmers and crofters depend on the service offered by the Mull abattoir and we believe it needs proper support,” she added.

Vital role

The grant recognises the vital role that the abattoir plays in this rural and isolated community.

The abattoir currently receives support only from private grant funding. 

Prince Charles has long spoken of the importance of retaining island facilities and small to medium abattoirs.

His Countryside Fund recently completed a project that established the Scottish Island Abattoir Association, with the aim of improving abattoirs’ levels of operation.

In December, the PCF also awarded £50,000 to the construction of an abattoir on the Isle of Skye and Lochalsh to ensure that local meat production is financially viable.