Farmers welcome abattoir report
16 June 2000
Farmers welcome abattoir report
By FWi staff
FARMERS have welcomed recommendations that the government should help pay meat hygiene inspection charges for small abattoirs.
The recommendation was made in a draft report by the Meat Inspection Charges Task Force leaked to Farmers Weekly.
The report warns that small abattoirs faced decimation unless the government contributed to the cost of inspections by the Meat Hygiene Service.
It recommends a radical change to the charging system to enable small abattoirs to be charged on a throughput basis, rather than paying an hourly rate.
The National Farmers Union called for a fairer way of charging small abattoirs which face big costs because they process a small number of animals.
Ben Gill, NFU president, said: “It is paramount that these recommendations … are accepted and urgently implemented by the government.
The Livestock Marketing Alliance (LMA), whose members represent livestock farmers, agreed there should be a change in way abattoirs are charged.
John Thorley, LMA vice chairman and chief executive of the National Sheep Association, described the report as “refreshingly well researched.”
Robert Forster, LMA council member and chief executive of the National Beef Association, said ministers would find it hard to reject the recommendations.
The Meat Hygiene Service must abandon its excessive time-based charges before it forces through the shut-down of small and medium-sized abattoirs, he said.
Jim Walker, President of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, said: “This report recognises what weve been arguing for some time.”
He added: “We now expect government to accept the reports conclusions and to act to reduce the charges accordingly.