A letter has today, 19th October 2026, been sent to the Prime Minister Andy Burnham, regarding local abattoirs and farming which is signed by over 150 organisations and individuals, including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Sir Roger Daltrey, Clarkson Farm’s Charlie Ireland, and all 10 National Parks in England, The National Trust, The National Farmers’ Union, The Soil Association, The Wildlife Trusts, The Sustainable Food Trust and Compassion in World Farming.
Click to read: LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER
Farmers, food, hospitality, animal welfare and conservation are calling for urgent Government action as UK abattoir numbers fall from around 2,500 to just 200. Britain has lost more than nine in ten of its abattoirs since the 1970s, leaving farmers without vital local slaughter facilities and putting British food production, rural businesses and animal welfare increasingly at risk.
The consequences are already being felt by farmers. A 2025 survey of 850 farmers and land managers found that two-thirds had experienced difficulty accessing suitable abattoir services, while one-third had seen an abattoir they used close.
If their current abattoir closed, 43% said they would no longer be able to sell meat locally and almost three in ten said they might have to close their meat business altogether. Nearly six in ten said their business would not be profitable without direct or local selling. The impact extends far beyond abattoirs themselves. Farms, butchers, farm shops, hospitality businesses and rural communities all depend upon functioning local supply chains. The loss of local facilities can also undermine native breed production, conservation grazing and nature-friendly farming.
The signatories to the letter are warning the Prime Minister that without urgent intervention, further closures will undermine the Government’s ambitions for food security, economic growth and a thriving British farming sector.
This picks up on the work started by APGAW in 2021 when we ran a cross-party inquiry on local abattoir provision and published The Future for Small Abattoirs report. We have seen some positive measures over the last few years including funding from the previous Government, however the situation has now become critical and the letter is a clear call to this Government to show both its understand of the needs of farmers and food producers and its will to support the sector
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