Thursday October 14, 2021
Pig jam in the kingdom
The British are desperately looking for butchers
The consequences of Brexit are now also affecting the slaughterhouses in Great Britain. There is a shortage of butchers in the kingdom. Special visas should help quickly. If help does not come in time, countless animals are threatened with emergency slaughter.
According to media reports, the government in London plans to issue up to 1,000 visas for foreign butcher masters in order to solve the enormous pig congestion on British farms. As the broadcaster Sky News and the newspaper “Daily Mail” reported, the requirements are to be made significantly easier. For example, the government could waive the requirement to have advanced knowledge of English.
The National Pig Association estimates that around 120,000 animals are at risk of culling. Slaughterhouses cannot process the pigs due to a lack of butchers, and the farms do not have enough space to continue to house the animals. So far, 6,000 healthy pigs have been culled on farms, according to the association. If there is no solution, 10,000 animals per week would soon have to be killed on the farm.
The British government is already fighting shortages with special visas for truck drivers and for the poultry industry. Because the country lacks around 100,000 truck drivers, according to the Road Haulage Association, supermarket shelves and petrol pumps have recently remained empty. The ports are also complaining about a container backlog due to the lack of drivers. Container ships have already been turned away at the most important port.
At the beginning of the Christmas business, retail experts warn of supply problems, for example with toys and electrical appliances. Truck drivers are rare across Europe. In Great Britain, however, new, strict Brexit immigration rules are making it more difficult for new skilled workers to move in.