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The UK’s National Pig Association (NPA) estimates that as of the middle of this week, the surplus of pigs on farms was around 85,000. animals. Approximately 15,000 people contribute to this team each week. pigs.
Pigs cannot be slaughtered at their normal capacity due to understaffed slaughterhouses in the country. Butchers in the country also face a serious shortage of workers.
The lack of CO2 gas also contributes to these problems. Carbon dioxide is used to stun animals prior to slaughter. CO2 is a by-product of ammonium fertilizer production, but in September, 60 percent. CF Industries, a fertilizer company that supplies this gas to the country’s business, closed two of its plants due to the high prices of natural gas used in the production of fertilizers.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Skerdykla
It is feared that all this could disrupt the supply of pork before and after the big holidays of the year.
It is also reported that around 600 healthy pigs have already been eradicated.
It’s emotionally unpleasant for farmers to kill healthy pigs just to throw their meat away, reports SKY News.
NPA representatives said that although about 600 healthy pigs have been eliminated so far, if the labor market situation does not improve, it could affect up to 150,000. animals. The British Association of Meat Processors estimates that farmers may have to pay 100,000. pigs.
Speaking to Sky News, NPA chief Zoe Davies said the idea that the pigs would be slaughtered in vain also pierced some of the “grown men” who work in the industry.
„Scanpix“ / AP nuotr./Kiaulės
“These are the animals that they raised, fed and cared for. After all that, killing someone who is completely healthy and throwing them away is a crime, ”he said.
Kate Morgan, a pig farmer living in East Yorkshire who was interviewed by the channel, also called the situation criminal and appealed to the conscience of the country’s prime minister, Boris Johnson.
“People are starving in the world, even in our country there are people who cannot feed their families. But Boris is happy to allow us to waste good, healthy food; you’re ready to throw healthy proteins in the trash. We ask Boris to listen to us, “he said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister himself, speaking on Times Radio, said he didn’t see a big problem because the country has “fantastic logistics and supply chain.”
Replicating the fears of a pig farmer that farmers will have to liquidate 100,000. pigs, Johnson argued that pigs are still killed in one way or another.
In the UK, the main culprit for this crisis is the migration of workers from Eastern Europe, many of whom left the archipelago following the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions, but did not return.
According to Sky News, this has resulted in slaughterhouses now operating at around 20 percent. below normal capacity, which in turn creates queues on pig farms.
This is not the only sector affected by the shortage of foreign workers. Last week, the UK government announced that it would issue temporary visas to 300 tanker trucks and 4,700 conventional truck drivers to curb fuel shortages at filling stations and guard against the risk of empty food shelves in stores. In addition, visas are issued for workers in the poultry sector, but pig farms are not covered by these exemptions.
The pig rearing cycle on a farm can take up to 10 months, so stopping this process is not economically beneficial for farmers. If farms stopped accepting young to make more room for pigs that had grown up but were not entering slaughterhouses, a reorganization of the process chain would eventually lead to a shortage again.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Kiauliena
The staff shortage is felt not only in the slaughterhouses themselves, but also in the country’s butchers. According to the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, today butchers offer about 14,000. work places.
Nick Allen, director of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), who was interviewed by the BBC, said the industry had become heavily dependent on foreign workers over time. At Brexit, around 70% of those workers were in butchers.
“It just came to our notice then. It will take the British some time to learn to work at this job, especially given that there is a lot of competition now. We have started apprenticeship programs, but the first battle is to get people interested in this profession, “he told the national station.
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