Ranchers protest during the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Tuesday.
Image: dpa
In Great Britain, after Brexit, there is a shortage of skilled workers in many industries, including meat processing. Slaughterhouses can no longer take enough pigs from farmers. The first animals are killed, thousands more are threatened with the same fate.
W.Since a blatant shortage of butchers in Great Britain has led to overcrowded pigsties, the first farmers have now started culling. Around 600 healthy animals that could not have been brought to the slaughterhouse were killed, said the pig farmers’ association National Pig Association on Tuesday. Although there are still no mass culls, the measure shows that the crisis has consequences. The association had warned that up to 120,000 pigs would have to be culled if more staff were not hired soon.
For many farmers it is extremely stressful to kill the pigs for no reason, the spokesman said. Many got help from outside.
In Great Britain there is a shortage of skilled workers in many industries, including meat processing. This is also due to the consequences of Brexit, as many workers, especially from Eastern Europe, left the country during the corona pandemic, but new, strict immigration rules are now making entry more difficult for job seekers. Due to the lack of specialists, slaughterhouses can no longer take enough animals from pig farmers – this is why space is becoming scarce on the farms.
The government now wants, among other things, to bring 5,000 truck drivers and 5,500 specialists in poultry processing from abroad into the country with special visas. However, according to estimates by the economy, that is by no means sufficient.
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