4 ms·

Hundreds of healthy pigs slaughtered amid UK shortage of abattoir workers

25 points by zqna 5y ago

jobigoud 5y ago
> I have had grown men in tears on the phone just at the thought to having to contemplate killing healthy animals. They are also healthy when they are killed to make food, I don't quite understand this posture. This just reduces the turnover so less healthy pigs are killed per unit of time. They are in tears because of the loss of revenue, not because of the animals, otherwise they really chose the wrong career.
azalemeth 5y ago
Brexit really is the gift that keeps on giving.
- Thorentis 5y ago
  The short term pain of less people to fill low paid jobs, will mean companies are forced to pay higher wages if they want to employ people. The race-to-the-bottom employment conditions created by mass immigration are unsustainable.
  - Pention 5y ago
    Curious how this will play it in ä global economy. What if the global Jobmarkt was helping Britten to fill gaps? Might this not lead to inflation? How will it comped within a global market? How much is it losing when it can't comped against EU internal market? I'm very sceptical and I think this might even less to a few death. And it could have been done much slower and less risky.
    - imtringued 5y ago
      It will probably lead to inflation, however, a careful central bank should be able to keep it in check. In our modern economies having too little inflation is often a bigger problem than having too much. If there is too much inflation then there are lots of growth opportunities that are untapped. The problem that a lot of developing nations face is that they are unable to do the necessary investments on their own that let them grow over the long term so inflation just stays high forever.
    - atatatat 5y ago
      The economy is only global until the next round of pandemic — don't you see?
- guilhas 5y ago
  "Britain’s food and drink industry has previously called on the government to introduce a “Covid-19 recovery visa” to recruit overseas workers to temporarily ease disruption in the food supply chain." More likely unintended consequences from unmeasured covid policies
gbronner 5y ago
If you have a large freezer, buy one and slaughter it yourself. Several hundred pounds of nearly free meat, and not especially hard to process yourself. Various us states have published guides on how to do this
- mrlonglong 5y ago
  In the UK pigs can only be slaughtered at an abattoir if it is going to be entering the food chain.
  - a0-prw 5y ago
    Is it legal to slaughter for your own use? You are allowed to do that here in Denmark.
    - mrlonglong 5y ago
      Most likely it is, but you can't do that with huge numbers of animals
      - gbronner 5y ago
        Historically, most farmers did this themselves. I don't think anyone would care if you did a few a year. You can probably do them with/for your neighbors as long as you don't charge. Wouldn't go about setting it up as a business.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
tuatoru 5y ago
> Farmers are insistent that low wages are not the reason that meat processing plants are struggling to fill their vacancies. “We are still being represented as a low-pay industry, and we need to put the record straight,” said Tom Bradshaw, vice-president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), adding that meat processing plants are offering wages of up to £18 an hour, but are still unable to attract enough workers. "Up to £18". That'll be for an experienced, skilled butcher. Starting wage for a factory hand, probably more like £6.

25 points by zqna 5y ago

> I have had grown men in tears on the phone just at the thought to having to contemplate killing healthy animals. They are also healthy when they are killed to make food, I don't quite understand this posture. This just reduces the turnover so less healthy pigs are killed per unit of time. They are in tears because of the loss of revenue, not because of the animals, otherwise they really chose the wrong career.

azalemeth 5y ago

Brexit really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Thorentis 5y ago
The short term pain of less people to fill low paid jobs, will mean companies are forced to pay higher wages if they want to employ people. The race-to-the-bottom employment conditions created by mass immigration are unsustainable.
- Pention 5y ago
  Curious how this will play it in ä global economy. What if the global Jobmarkt was helping Britten to fill gaps? Might this not lead to inflation? How will it comped within a global market? How much is it losing when it can't comped against EU internal market? I'm very sceptical and I think this might even less to a few death. And it could have been done much slower and less risky.
  - imtringued 5y ago
    It will probably lead to inflation, however, a careful central bank should be able to keep it in check. In our modern economies having too little inflation is often a bigger problem than having too much. If there is too much inflation then there are lots of growth opportunities that are untapped. The problem that a lot of developing nations face is that they are unable to do the necessary investments on their own that let them grow over the long term so inflation just stays high forever.
  - atatatat 5y ago
    The economy is only global until the next round of pandemic — don't you see?
guilhas 5y ago
"Britain’s food and drink industry has previously called on the government to introduce a “Covid-19 recovery visa” to recruit overseas workers to temporarily ease disruption in the food supply chain." More likely unintended consequences from unmeasured covid policies

gbronner 5y ago

If you have a large freezer, buy one and slaughter it yourself. Several hundred pounds of nearly free meat, and not especially hard to process yourself. Various us states have published guides on how to do this

mrlonglong 5y ago
In the UK pigs can only be slaughtered at an abattoir if it is going to be entering the food chain.
- a0-prw 5y ago
  Is it legal to slaughter for your own use? You are allowed to do that here in Denmark.
  - mrlonglong 5y ago
    Most likely it is, but you can't do that with huge numbers of animals
    - gbronner 5y ago
      Historically, most farmers did this themselves. I don't think anyone would care if you did a few a year. You can probably do them with/for your neighbors as long as you don't charge. Wouldn't go about setting it up as a business.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

tuatoru 5y ago

> Farmers are insistent that low wages are not the reason that meat processing plants are struggling to fill their vacancies. “We are still being represented as a low-pay industry, and we need to put the record straight,” said Tom Bradshaw, vice-president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), adding that meat processing plants are offering wages of up to £18 an hour, but are still unable to attract enough workers. "Up to £18". That'll be for an experienced, skilled butcher. Starting wage for a factory hand, probably more like £6.