The Agri Brigade
S
MALL abattoirs, so vital to farm shops, farmers’ markets and what survives of Britain’s local food networks, are being forced out of business by the rising costs associated with ever increasing regulation. There are now believed to be fewer than 60 small slaughterhouses left in the whole country. Can anything be done to save them?
The plight of Down Land Traditional Meats (DLTM), a small abattoir near Henfield in West Sussex, is typical. The facility is exactly the sort of small slaughterhouse that could and should have a future if people want to buy meat outside of a supermarket. It is situated well away from housing and has good road access, meaning that the noise,