HEALTHY pigs are being slaughtered on farms because a shortage of abattoir workers is causing a backlog. Animals not slaughtered in an abattoir are not considered suitable for human consumption, so most of the carcases will be used for pet food or sent to incinerators.
An online petition claims that up to 150,000 pigs will die in the coming weeks and demands that the government takes responsibility and provides a solution.
Boris Johnson told interviewer Andrew Marr: ‘I hate to break it to you, Andrew, but our food processing industry does involve killing a lot of animals . . . your viewers need to understand that.’ Animals-die-food-industry-Boris-dismisses-farmers-fury-potential-mass-pig-cull.html It is a fair point that the pigs are going to be slaughtered anyway (and it is arguably kinder to kill them on their own farm than transporting them to the abattoir), but farmers receive far less for a carcase for pet food than for an animal sold for the table, and presumably nothing at all for one that is burned.
Should the government take emergency steps to make sure the animals are slaughtered in abattoirs? Feel free to discuss this or anything else on your mind.
