Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to clear the backlog of pigs on UK farms due to the shortage of butchers to avoid more animals being killed and disposed of.

We continue to work closely with the pig industry to help them respond to challenges caused by a combination of factors, including the pandemic and the loss of the Chinese export market for certain processing plants, disruption to CO2 supplies and a temporary shortage of labour in the processing sector, which together have led to a growing backlog of pigs on farms.

We are very much aware of the impact that the need to cull pigs has on those individual farmers affected. We have therefore provided a package of measures to help address these unique circumstances, which includes temporary work visas for pork butchers, and Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment (SIP) schemes to facilitate an increase in the throughput of pigs through abattoirs. Together with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and other Government Departments, we are working to both expand existing overseas markets and to identify new export markets for pork, particularly lightly processed pork. We are also working with industry to support their efforts on the recruitment and retention of domestic workers.

I have chaired two Roundtables – on 10 February and 3 March - with representatives of the pig sector from across the UK. Following discussions with the sector, Defra removed all end destination requirements for pigs processed through the SIP scheme, a change which has encouraged further take up of this measure. I also met with representatives of the agricultural banking sector to discuss the current situation in the pig sector. The banks confirmed that they are working closely with impacted pig farmers during this exceptionally challenging period and remain keen to be supportive.