Pig farmers beg for short-term visa permissions to address butcher shortage

British pig farmers have warned that they may be forced to cull livestock if the government does not take action on butcher shortages.

According to the National Pig Association, a shortage of skilled butchers due to Brexit and Covid has resulted in a backlog of pigs on farms.

Farmers have requested that the government address the skills gap by introducing short-term visas for European workers.

The pig surplus has also created a spike in accommodation and food costs.

Dr Zoe Davies, chief executive of National Pig Association, said there “are apprenticeship schemes and companies working with the Department of Work and Pensions [DWP] looking at people who are maybe unemployed, to retrain.

She explained: “It’s just not yielding the amount of people we need, which is why we need this quick injection of skilled labour coming from wherever we can find it.”