Is time running out for locally produced meat? This is a question being raised by the trade body National Craft Butchers, as yet another small abattoir closes. Glossop based butcher John Mettrick is turning off the lights in his small abattoir for the last time today – Wednesday 31st August.
The irony of the situation is not lost on Mettrick. As chair of the Abattoir Sector Group, co-founded with National Craft Butchers, the Sustainable Food Trust, and others, he plays a key role in the fight to save small abattoirs. He has also proudly opened the doors of his abattoir to the BBC for its Kill it, Cook it, Eat it programme, appeared on Countryfile, and spoken on national news about the vital role local abattoirs play in the rural economy. Yet now, over one hundred years and five generations of Mettricks later, the abattoir side of the family business has become the latest casualty in the battle.
Local abattoirs are recognised as a vital part of meat trade infrastructure that enables consumers to buy high quality, locally produced, traceable meat. This is meat from animals reared by small scale farmers who care about their livestock. It is also meat from animals that have travelled the shortest possible distance to slaughter, reducing stress for them whilst also minimising any effect to the environment.
However, according to the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) figures, small abattoirs are closing at a rate of 10% each year – meaning that within a decade they may disappear altogether. Yet demand for locally produced, environmentally responsible meat is growing, so why are small abattoirs like Mettrick’s closing at such an alarming rate is the question being asked by many?
Although the issue is complex, John feels it can be distilled into two core reasons, which lie behind the closure of his own abattoir business: inappropriate and burdensome regulation, and inexperienced on-site official veterinarians (OVs). Both contribute to conflict rather than collaboration, and can demoralise staff who then leave the industry, which is already suffering a shortage of labour following Brexit.
According to Mettrick and the NCB, morale has never been lower. For Mettricks this became painfully clear when their Institute of Meat award-winning, fully qualified slaughterman along with two fully qualified butchers decided to leave the industry creating a situation where Mettrick had no choice but to close his abattoir.
Over complicated legislation
NCB say that regulation for the industry has mainly been designed with large scale abattoirs and their customers in mind. As such it is overly complicated and simply unworkable in small abattoirs, where the owner is often the slaughter man and the person responsible for dealing with all regulatory requirements.
John Mettrick said: “The FSA acknowledges that the present one size fits all system does not work and through a 5-year programme (OTP) say they hope to be able to deliver a risk based proportional approach to regulation in the future. However, this will require legislative change to have any chance of a meaningful impact. The refusal from the UK government to utilise even existing legislation to support small abattoirs means that in the meantime many, like my own, will have no choice but to close.”
Post Brexit there has also been a shortage of highly qualified, experienced Official Veterinarians (OVs). As a result, Mettrick says it is not unusual for small abattoirs to become inspected by OVs who have limited experience of a low throughput multi species abattoirs, and some can “become bored or overzealous.”
The shock waves caused by the closure of a local abattoir are also felt throughout the rural economy. Those affected most from the Mettricks shut down, apart from Brian their highly skilled slaughterman of 21 years, will be the 200 farmers who relied on the abattoir and cutting room services to run their businesses, and who may struggle to find an alternative local processor.
Richard Young, policy director at the Sustainable Food Trust said: "This is a very ominous development for all those farmers who manage to make ends meet by selling high quality meat from their own animals direct to consumers. If one of the best and most impressive small abattoirs in the country is forced to close, then yet more will follow. While farmers will try to find another abattoir, in many areas there are now no suitable alternatives and some of the farmers will eventually be forced out of business as a result. The beneficiaries will be the supermarkets whose share of the meat market will grow further.”
John Mettrick, who is also legislation director of the National Craft Butchers, is understandably bitter. He added: “Whilst Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been celebrating trade deals, in truth the Government has taken their eye off the ball domestically and is, in effect, sacrificing small businesses in pursuit of these deals.
“The government talk about the importance of animal welfare with short distances to slaughter, local meat, sustainably produced, but policy does not represent that. Their inaction is effectively killing off the very businesses that help deliver these objectives. Livestock farmers who wish to market their own meat, rare breed producers and other small businesses are being left high and dry as more abattoirs close.’
FSA response
Robert Locker, head of field operations at the FSA said: “We’re aware of the pressures faced by small abattoirs and are continuing to work with other government departments and industry on reducing the burden of regulation. We are committed to providing flexible support, while maintaining high animal welfare and food hygiene standards.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
