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Due to the lack of staff in pig farms due to Brexit and the pandemic, 600 of these animals were slaughtered and cremated in the UK. In addition, the authorities warn that 150,000 more they could have the same purpose.
According to the EFE agency, the National Swine Association asked the United Kingdom to implement actions to prevent the mass slaughter of pigs due to the worker shortage in slaughterhouses and farms.
As reported by Reuters, the shortage of personnel on livestock farms is motivated by the Brexit, since the United Kingdom has requested that it no longer be contracted foreign labor for, and the other reason is the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this regard, Rob Mutimer, president of the association and rancher in Norfolk, said: “I receive daily calls from ranchers across the country who are in a dangerous situation in which they have too many pigs on their farms ”.
For this reason, Zoe Davies, director of the National Pig Association, asked the UK government to implement measures, at least six or nine months. One of them is resort to migration to hire people to take care of the pigs; however, they regretted that the talks reached “a dead end”.
In response, Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, said that pig farm owners need to get used to this situation and called for efforts to hire UK labor instead of depend on foreigners, although they will inevitably face a short-term stockout.
Johnson also emphasized that the United Kingdom is “at a turning point” and should stop hiring “myear of cheap labor and low-skilled ”and promote a better economy with high salaries and qualifications.
The lack of workers has not only affected the pig industry, there are also shortages in other areas of agriculture, such as dairy, coupled with the missing truck drivers
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