‘Small-scale’ abattoirs in England will be able to apply for capital grants through a new £4 million fund, which has been rolled out by the UK government.
An update from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on Wednesday, December 13, outlined that grants of between £2,000 and £60,000 are available at a 40% intervention rate.
The grant supports have been selected to:
- Improve productivity;
- Enhance animal health and welfare;
- Add value to primary products;
- Encourage innovation the use of new technologies.
The 40% intervention rate means an abattoir applying for an eligible item costing £10,000 would receive £4,000 in capital grant funding, and would therefore need to make up the remaining £6,000.
Applicants will be able to make up to three applications to a total of £60,000, to get the most out of the fund.
The fund aims to acknowledge that each abattoir has different specialisms, requirements and challenges, and so “will consider additional investments that aren’t on the list of items”.
Applicants will be asked to provide evidence that the investment aligns with at least one of the fund’s aims, objectives, and eligibility criteria.
The deadline to apply is September 30, 2024.
According to DEFRA: “Smaller abattoirs are really important”, and are “vital to farmers getting their products to market”.
“Smaller abattoirs are an important part of rural economies. They offer a higher-value route to market for native and rare breeds, particularly horned animals, which many large abattoirs are generally unable or unwilling to process.”
The DEFRA statement continued: “They also support higher standards of animal welfare by helping to maintain reduced journey times to slaughter, ensuring that animals do not need to be transported over longer distances, which can create welfare issues, as well as taking up farmers’ limited time.”
DEFRA acknowledged that as a result of rising operating costs, including the cost of disposal of animal by-products (amongst other reasons), “there has been a large decline in the number of operational smaller abattoirs in recent years”.
Over the last four years (2018-2022),smaller red meat abattoirs have declined by around 25% and smaller poultry abattoirs have declined by around 40%.
The importance of smaller abattoirs in providing private kill services to farmers “wishing to retail and market their own produce, and provide local products to local butchers and farm shops” was also acknowledged, and it was noted that “this service is not routinely provided by larger abattoirs, as it is usually not cost-effective if distances to the point of slaughter are too great”.
