Dearer meat, fewer jobs if rural abattoirs close

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 1

Dearer meat, fewer jobs if rural abattoirs close

Rural slaughter-houses throughout New Zealand will be closed in the next two years unless their existence can be justified.

Farmers are concerned about the fate of the slaughter-houses, which, they say, provide employment in rural communities and give flexibility to the meat industry. The future of the slaughter-houses has been threatened since an amendment to the Meat Act was passed in 1976, creating “inspected meat areas.” The act requires that all meat sold for human consumption after July I, 1981, will have to come from licensed export s 1 a u g h t e r-houses or licensed abattoirs that have their own inspectorate staff. At present, rural slaugh-ter-houses are inspected only periodically. Not every carcase is inspected, according to Mr A. F. Lory, the regional meat inspector with the Ministry of Agriculture in Christchurch. About 40 slaughterhouses will be affected nationally, and 18 of these are in Canterbury, Marlborough and the West Coast. A hint of the farmers’ concern came out at a

meeting of the meat and wool section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers yesterday. The subject was first brought up in committee, but the discussion was brought into open meeting when the chairman (Mr M. R. Murchison) pointed out the importance of the slaughter houses to rural communities. The impression among some members of the section was that slaughterhouses would have to be closed unless they met stricter hygiene standards, possibly export-standard. But, according to Mr Lory, it was not a problem of hygiene standards that threatened the future of the slaughter-houses. They must justify their existence and supply sufficient reason why meat could not be supplied from other licensed sources. There was concern that closing would affect employment in rural communities, but the slaugh-ter-houses were generally one or two-man businesses, commonly run by butchers who had retail outlets, Mr Lory said.

In most cases, therefore closing would mean that meat would have to come from more distant sources, and customers would have to pay more for their meat. Mr Lory said that many areas supplied by rural slaughter-houses were now by-passed by refrigerated trucks going through the area. Closing businesses would mean that stock could be slaughtered by companies which already' ‘ supplied neighbouring districts. Hygiene standards in most slaughter-houses at present were adequate, said Mr Lory. Even if the slaughterhouses pass the 1981 deadline, they will be granted only temporary existence until 1986, when the whole of New Zealand will come under the “inspected meat area” constitution. The provisions do not affect meat slaughtered by a farmer on his own property, and intended for consumption by his family or by persons who work on the farm.