Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Northern Irish vet and meat inspector strike sparks threat to food production

Union members in the Veterinary Service Animal Health Group (VSAHG) voted for the action over pay disputes.

Strikes across the water could have repercussions for meat production across the UK.
Strikes across the water could have repercussions for meat production across the UK.

Government employed vets and meat inspectors in Northern Ireland commenced a five-day strike yesterday which could cause major disruption for border controls and food production.

Union members in the Veterinary Service Animal Health Group (VSAHG) voted for the action over pay disputes.

This week’s strike means that no slaughter of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry can take place across the whole of Northern Ireland as veterinarians will not be on site in abattoirs.

The British Meat Processors Association has warned of three ‘major issues’ including animal welfare, particularly in the pork sector, as pigs begin to back-up on farms.

Nick Allen, CEO of British Meat Processors Association, said its members are ‘extremely concerned’ over the lack of information and a contingency plan.

He said: “So far, our members have heard nothing from the Northern Ireland Civil Service about if and how they plan to prioritise veterinary cover in meat plants to avoid causing animal welfare issues and disruption to the food supply chain.

Mr Allen added that animals become too big and ‘out of scope’ for supermarket shelves, resulting in farmers unable to sell their livestock.

He said because of the numbers of animals involved, it will take months to recover from the loss of those five production days.

“The strike means that meat plants will have to cease operations, causing loss of income for those businesses, and disrupting food supply chains,” said Mr Allen.

“This is a particular worry as we enter the busiest period of the year in the run up to Christmas when our members are preparing festive products like hams and pigs-in-blankets for the Christmas market.”

Mr Allen says it could also prove sensitive for the UK government which is currently working on an agreement with the DUP over the Windsor Framework.

“The vets’ walkout could expose the scale of border checks that are still needed to get food from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland – even through the new ‘green lane’ – and will demonstrate that the Irish Sea border has not been removed,” he said.

“With Stormont still not sitting, this will inevitably end up back in Westminster. So, on behalf of producers and processors, we would urge Government to step in to engage with all parties, draw up some emergency plans and, ultimately, help to settle this dispute.”