Pig slaughter on the rise in UK due to labor crisis

British farmers have begun culling pigs in an attempt to avoid the accumulation of animals on farms. For weeks now, industry representatives have been calling on the government to take action to allow foreign workers to enter the country to avoid labor shortages. So far, NPA chief executive Zoe Davis has confirmed the slaughter of about 600 pigs and warned that "mass slaughter" would be the next step.

The problems that have arisen in the food supply chain is a topic that has been present in the UK for several months now. “The current supply chain issues are systemic and long-term, but right now we have an immediate and deepening short-term labor crisis,” she said.

After Brexit and after the pandemic, the problem got much worse. Industries are currently competing with each other for a dwindling pool of workers, and as a result of the current labor crisis, workers in strategic sectors such as food production and welfare are being poached by other sectors that can afford to raise wages by 20 or more. thirty%. To restore some balance in the labor market, every employer (including the public sector) may have to follow suit, but this will mean rising consumer prices.

"The issue requires both short-term and long-term solutions to allow the industry to adjust to post-Brexit labor market realities, which only became clear after the Brexit deal was finally signed at the end of January 2020," the British Meat Processors Association said in its press release.