'Local' meat may have travelled hundreds of miles, say groups calling for 'mobile abattoirs'

Meat labelled “local” may have travelled hundreds of miles to be slaughtered, farmers and environmentalists have warned as they call for more efficient rules after Brexit.

The Sustainable Food Trust is one of several groups calling for the introduction of “mobile abattoirs” in the UK to improve animal welfare by reducing the distance they have to travel.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the organisation criticises the dwindling of red meat abattoirs from 1,900 in 1971 to 245 today, and blames EU red tape for stifling efforts to slaughter animals more locally.

Current rules mean official vets have to examine animals before they are slaughtered.

However, the SFT said improved technology means vets can now monitor welfare standards remotely using CCTV.

The letter is co-signed by a Gloucestershire farmer, Jane Parker, who is leading a consortium of local farmers pioneering a mobile abattoir able to process approximately six cattle and 75 sheep a week.

“Brexit presents an opportunity to create a system with less bureaucracy that would reduce costs and thereby sustain and strengthen smaller abattoirs, enabling consumers to choose locally-sourced, high-quality meat produced in their

communities,” the signatories write.

“The introduction of mobile or small on-farm slaughter units would also give this option to producers in areas where there are now no local abattoirs.”

Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, has signalled he is in favour of reducing bureaucracy for small farmers, telling a conference last month he wants to see an increase in animals being slaughtered at home.

The SFT, along with Compassion in World Farming, is not proposing to do away with the need for a trained meet inspector to certify each “cold” carcass after slaughter.

The signatories have proposed a new stamp that shows the meat has been produced and slaughtered locally.

Prompted by the Humane Slaughter Association, efforts were made in the 1990s to introduce mobile abattoirs, however none was successful.