Call for action over small abattoirs

8 June 2000



Call for action over small abattoirs

by Alistair Driver

CALLS for a change of government policy have been made by an MP in the House of Commons following the closure of another small meat plant.

In a debate on rural abattoirs, Christopher Gill (Con, Ludlow) called for meat hygiene charges for abattoirs to be shifted from an hourly basis to a headage basis.

His calls came as the Horsham Bacon Factory announced it is to stop killing pigs on June 16, saying it faces excessive bureaucracy and spiralling charges.

Peter Leuw, who runs the plant with his father, said the final straw was being told to pay for an extra Meat Hygiene Sevice veterinary inspector.

This would have added to the 50,000 a year already spent on meat inspection at the plant which processes 1,000 pigs a week.

We just couldnt see any light at the end of the tunnel, he said.

Around 1000 abattoirs have closed in the last 10 years and half the remaining 350 small plants are expected to close in the next six months.

Mr Gill said in the Commons on Tuesday (June 6) that the current charging system discriminates against small abattoirs.

Quoting the Small Abattoir Federation, he said when 100 per cent veterinary supervision comes in next April, low-volume abattoirs will pay 44 per animal.

That is 11 times the unit charge of 4.14 in a high-throughput abattoir.

I am sure that the Minister will appreciate that that is intolerable and unsustainable for small abattoirs paying the higher charges.

Mr Gill pointed out that other EU states charge on a headage basis.

He also asked health under-secretary Yvette Cooper if she would reassess the specific level of risk to human health posed by abattoirs.

He said meat inspection, like almost every other public health measure, should be paid for by the public.

Mr Gill highlighted the case of the Mead Webber lamb processing plant in Shropshire, which blamed the actions of a new MHS vet for its closure.

Ms Cooper said the charging issue is being considered by the meat charges task force, which is due to report later this month.

She said the Food Standards Agency was pushing for the early introduction of a risk-based control system for fresh meat plants.

A petition to save small abattoirs, backed by 130 rural organisations, is being circulated. It calls for the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter.