New sheep abattoir set to open in Halifax
© Medina A new abattoir for lambs and cull ewes is set to open in Halifax, West Yorkshire next month.
The site, trading as Medina Abattoir Services, will have capacity to process 5,000 sheep a week initially, with plans to increase this to up to 10,000 a week once the site is fully operational.
It is due to be operational by mid-April following approval by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
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Hamza Pervaz, director at Medina said: “We believe strongly in the need for local slaughter capacity in the UK, especially as many farmers are struggling with the shortage of abattoirs and kill space.
“We are going to be offering contract killing, helping local farmers and wholesalers that are struggling to get livestock killed.
“We are providing services for anybody in the UK as a middleman to get livestock processed.”
He added that, alongside contract killing, the firm intended to buy livestock for the retail sector.
Third generationÂ
Mr Pervaz, along with his family, previously ran a poultry abattoir in Bradford and is the third generation of the family business.
They made the decision to move away from poultry and focus on red meat because of increased competition from imports.
He indicated that the transition had been tough, with no government support and a lot of regulatory barriers, but said the site was now almost ready to open for business.
The new facility will also be able to process goats.
