The UK abattoir sector is facing a severe shortage of workers, which has led to a large backlog of pigs being slaughtered and processed. The National Pig Association fears a welfare disaster within weeks if farmers cannot get their pigs to slaughter. More than 120,000 pigs will have to be slaughtered.
The backlog at the abattoirs is increasing due to the lack of (skilled) labour. At this moment, there are 100 to 120,000 pigs that cannot be slaughtered and this number increases by 12,000 every week. In the meantime, pig farmers are paying for extra feed and all other costs. The farmers are also running into problems with the space available for housing.
But there is not only a problem in the slaughterhouses. Transport of animals and processed carcasses is also becoming difficult due to a lack of truck drivers. The meat industry is just one of many sectors of the economy facing labour shortages due to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pigs that will soon have to be culled will not enter the food chain because they cannot be slaughtered under current rules.
Source: The Guardian
Picture: Guido Gerding, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
