[rustyme]

the cost of to small local abattoirs ,for the mandatory checks that are at present charged per animal , are set to be charged by the hour instead. This is to take the burden off of the tax payer ...we are told !!! The cost to small local abattoirs will be somewhere in the region of an 800% increase. This will obviously mean the few local ones left will go out of business. How can this be right when we are being told to buy local food with less food miles ? It is yet another move by the government to kill small business in favour of large ones (and who runs those ?).So we will be charged even more for our meat , (more food miles= higher prices ) less choice of abatoirs , and smallholders will be the ones worse off . They will have to travel even further with their animals and there will be less personal treatment . It all adds up to more money to pay and more money for the government . The government have had a 10-15 year war on agriculture , one which I think they are very close to winning . The number of pig farmers in the Uk is set to halve again this year. With the cost of feed going through the roof so far, and set to go up at an even faster rate and by much more !!, how can people cope ? Time for people to have a word with their local mp ( while they still have one) maybe ?.   Sorry for the doom and gloom .... but it is the government doing it not me ... Cheers Russ

[Hilarysmum]

Not to be political but the Government wont listen to one small voice, the answer is for all the small voices to get together and make a loud protest.  It can be done.

[Farmer Giles]

I don't know about other folk here in France that may use them but it seems that all of the small local abattoirs here are vanishing, there used to be one 10 kms away but this has merged with a larger concern that is now 45kms away.

A bit of a nuisance as for the next pigs/sheep that we 'sort' we will be going to go this route as I find home kills very trying to say the least (not wanting to hijack another thread re this matter) as, for me, it is not only very time consuming but not too sure, IMHO, whether it is fair on the animals and I have various reasons for these thoughts.

Seems to be happening everywhere, maybe a European directive??