Carcasses sent to EU and returned after being carved because of butcher shortages
Britain’s cattle farmers are being forced to ship carcasses to the European Union for processing amid a shortage of butchers.
Cattle farmers are having to ship carcassess to the European Union for processing because of a shortage of butchers.
Farmers have been forced to send dead cows to the Republic of Ireland so they can be carved into cuts and then reimported back home, according to the Financial Times.
The British Meat Processors Association said pork producers were planning to ship carcasses to the Netherlands for butchering.
It comes as many butchers and abattoir workers left the UK in the wake of Covid and Brexit.
While the government has announced 800 temporary visas for butchers to come to the country, the meat sector fears it isn’t enough to stem the vacancies.
Ministers also announced they would pay to freeze carcasses, so animals were not unnecessarily killed and then disposed of.
He added: “The backlog isn’t getting any worse, but it isn’t getting any better.”
Staffing numbers were reportedly around 15 per cent below the standard.
Overseas butchers were already eligible to come to the country through the Skilled Worker Route through the point-based immigration system. Now, they can apply through the Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme.
At least 600 healthy pigs have already been slaughtered and thrown “in the bin” after farmers had to take action to avoid surpassing legal limits for stocking density.
The National Farmers Union also warned up to 150,000 animals may be killed.
Ministers stressed they do not believe temporary visas to be a long term solution and said the pork sector should make itself more enticing to domestic workers.
Environment secretary George Eustice, said: “A unique range of pressures on the pig sector over recent months such as the impacts of the pandemic and its effect on export markets have led to the temporary package of measures we are announcing today.”