Hundreds of healthy pigs culled due to abattoir worker shortage

5 October 2021, 17:38 | Updated: 5 October 2021, 17:39

Hundreds of pigs have been culled on British farms
Hundreds of pigs have been culled on British farms. Picture: Alamy

By Patrick Grafton-Green

The culling of healthy pigs has begun on British farms, with at least 600 slaughtered due to a labour shortage in abattoirs.

Chief executive of the National Pig Association (NPA), Zoe Davies, warned many more could follow.

Farmers have said up to 120,000 pigs could be culled as the abattoir labour shortage has led to a backlog of animals ready for slaughter.

READ MORE: 'Don’t let Brexit obliterate us': Pig farmers protest at Tory conference amid cull warning

READ MORE: Butcher shortage could ruin Christmas as supplies of pigs in blankets at risk

The backlog means farms are struggling to find space for the extra pigs - leaving them with no choice but to cull them in the face of overcrowding concerns.

Ms Davies said at least 600 pigs have already been culled by "a handful of farms", with others "on the edge".

"There is a huge difference in terms of where farms are at", she said.

"Some farms are on the edge."

Ms Davies said the cull was "hugely difficult" for the pig farmers, and some have even resorted to hiring outside help instead of asking their staff to do it.

"Some are having to use knackermen as they just can't bear having to do it or ask their staff to do it", she said.

She said pig farmers were "angry, upset, all the range of emotions that you can possibly imagine".

She added: "There is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Consumers may have to go without 'decorated hams or pigs in blankets'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted at the weekend "the great hecatomb of pigs... has not yet taken place".

He also told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: "I hate to break it to you but I am afraid our food processing industry does involve the killing of a lot of animals. I think your viewers need to understand that."

When it was pointed out to him the whole problem was that they could not be sold for food and they would have to be disposed of on the farms, he accused the presenter of "trying to obfuscate".

Ms Davies said farmers care about how their livestock are used.

"Farmers care about the animals they have been rearing", she said.

"These animals were going to feed the nation. It should not be allowed to happen."

She called on the Government to increase the number of worker visas for abattoirs, and to lower the English language requirement.

"At the moment it's the same level as doctors or vets", she said.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

A bag from Primark, found in the Weija Ashbread landfill, an older textile dump site sited on the Densu river, upriver from the protected wetlands, outside Accra, Ghana.

'This is dangerous': Discarded clothes from UK brands including Next, Asda and M&S found in protected Ghana wetlands

School crossing lollipop sign

Lollipop man ordered to stop high-fiving crossing children

Dame Diana Johnson said “there is absolutely no place for violent, misogynistic and harmful content online”, after several MPs urged the Government to expand the definition of “extreme pornographic images”.

‘No place for violent content online,’ says policing minister in pornography ban pledge

Missing Jay Slater witness found 'holidaying' in Tenerife as inquest hears Jay, 19, died with alcohol in his system

Friend of missing Jay Slater witness reveals details of 'two knives' carried by teen on the night he died in Tenerife

Devastating new footage has emerged showing the lone survivor of the Air India plane crash carrying the coffin of his younger brother, who died in the fatal disaster.

New video shows heartbreaking moment lone Air India survivor limps as he carries brother’s coffin at funeral

Claire Boyd underwent surgery in a bid to address a long history of abdominal pain

Family walks out of inquest after coroner rejects malnutrition in hospital death

Inquests into the deaths of the women, who were both born in Pakistan but lived in Maltsby, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, were opened on Wednesday.

Sisters drown in pools on popular Snowdonia route, inquest told

A police cordon blocking the inside lane of the northbound carriageway on the M1 motorway near Bucknalls Lane overpass in Hertfordshire, where a man's body was found by road workers on Monday.

Horror crash sees M1 closed 'in both directions' with emergency services including air ambulance in attendance

Bruce Springsteen performs on stage

First look at upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic starring Jeremy Allen White divides fans

Liz Kendall, Work and Pensions Secretary and Labour MP for Leicester West spoke to LBC's Tom Swarbrick.

Liz Kendall unable to say how much the changes in the Welfare Bill announced today will end up costing

Exclusive
Brexit has unleashed ‘backstreet medicine’ across Britain, warns leading pharmacist

Brexit has unleashed ‘backstreet medicine’ across Britain, warns leading pharmacist

The record breaking ticket was bought in Munster. It is still unclaimed

'Have a cup of tea and let it sink in': Lottery bosses message to record Euromillions winner as prize yet unclaimed

Exclusive
Joe and his friends found the fraudulent listing on RightMove and OpenRent.

‘We lost £5,000 in a rental fraud scam and now we’re facing homelessness’

Ruth Jones and husband David Peet split up after 26 years. he is now in a new relationship in Canada

Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones splits from husband after 26 years

Iran's supreme leader has hit back at Trump.

'Nobody knows what I'm gonna do': Trump's cryptic message as Iran brands claims of Washington talks 'despicable lies'

The Adalynn and Front Eagle tankers collided and caught on fire on Tuesday close to the Strait of Hormuz.

Navigational mistake led to oil tanker collision near Strait of Hormuz, says UAE official