Meat at home. Can Altai lift the ban on backyard slaughter

Problems related to the ban on slaughtering livestock in backyards have reached the federal level. However, it is still not clear whether this restrictive measure will disappear

The ban on backyard slaughter remains an urgent problem in the Altai Territory, where almost half of the population lives in rural areas. This issue arose even more painfully in connection with the economic sanctions imposed against the country by "Western partners." And now more and more often heard proposals for the abolition of these restrictions. Is this possible and are there any prerequisites for the return of the past order of "legalization" of meat, the Tolka correspondent investigated.

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The speaker of the Altai parliament, Alexander Romanenko, said at a meeting of the Council of Legislators of Russia on April 27 that, under the sanctions, the country's agriculture needs support. And lifting the ban on backyard slaughter is just one of the necessary initiatives.

Romanenko also made suggestions, such as delaying the implementation of labeling and traceability systems for certain commodities, and giving Altai farmers priority in auctions for the lease of agricultural land they are already cultivating.

The ban on slaughtering livestock in backyards remains a sore subject for Altai. On April 21, the regional government held a briefing where it explained whether the restriction could be lifted and whether it led to negative consequences

As the press service of the AKZS told Tolka, Alexander Romanenko's proposals were eventually included in the draft decision of the Council of Legislators. The document will be considered by sectoral ministries, State Duma committees and the Federation Council. And, apparently, the federal authorities will have to put an end to the issue. However, the mere fact that the message has reached such a level can be perceived as a kind of optimistic sign.

No ban needed

Some believe that restrictions on domestic slaughter are completely unproductive. Thus, Vyacheslav Laptev, a member of the regional parliament, said that already in the 1990s, the Russian authorities tried to introduce such restrictions. However, at that time (more or less) collective farms worked, and each of them had "correct" slaughterhouses. Today, the required infrastructure does not exist.

The creation of new "white" slaughter sites is associated with a number of difficulties, and somewhere it can create new problems. Kolkhoz slaughterhouses, according to Laptev, were in almost every single village. Modern analogues appear at the rate of "one piece per district", and this, of course, is not enough, especially considering that villages can be located at a considerable distance from the district center.

In addition, the issue of transport creates difficulties. So, many business executives simply do not have the opportunity to take cattle to the slaughterhouse. You have to order transport from the company itself. As a result, many animals from different farms travel in the same car, and if there is at least one sick animal among them, then by the end of this “one-way trip”, there will, of course, be more infected.

But the scheme for checking meat, which was in effect before the introduction of restrictions, according to Laptev, was more than viable. Before slaughtering an animal, a citizen called the veterinary station, and a veterinary paramedic went to him and conducted an examination.

Sale of meat

After that, the slaughter took place, and the carcass was taken to a veterinary station, where the meat was checked for parasites and diseases. After that, the farmer was issued a document stating where exactly the goods would be sold. And at the point of sale, the analysis was carried out again, in case of a possible replacement of the carcass.

"It was an absolutely well-oiled system. Meat in the markets was sold safely for the population," the deputy believes.

In addition, according to Laptev, the ban is not very actively observed in other countries of the Customs Union (namely, it is dictated by the regulations of this bloc).

There is an exit

The head of the Altai executive committee of the ONF, Sergei Voytyuk, said: in his opinion, restrictions are needed, since it is necessary to move towards a "civilized format" of slaughter. However, personal subsidiary farms in the current conditions were equated with industrial production.

Although they are "traditional production of organic products", they should, in theory, be subject to completely different standards.

“We would like to remove personal subsidiary farms from a certain group of regulation, but at the same time not lose control functions. Otherwise, we risk getting even more epizootics (that is, worsening the situation with animal diseases. – Note ed.),” said Sergey Voytyuk.

In addition, the practice of applying a "killer" ban does seem to vary from region to region. For example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, according to MK, there is a system similar to that described by Vyacheslav Laptev, and data on meat is entered by veterinarians into the Mercury system. And such a mechanism, apparently, is much more convenient for private traders. The prospects for lifting the ban, according to Sergei Voytyuk, mainly depend on whether the federal authorities heard the "local" request.

And it seems that the chances of this have recently increased significantly.