Concerns have been raised over the apparent decline in abattoirs numbers in the UK.

A new report has warned that there are just over 200 are left, from about 2500 in the 1970s to just 203 in 2024.

The warning comes from the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), as they believe the decline risks seriously jeopardising British food security.

For livestock farmers, access to a local abattoirs is a major priority, but rising distances and journey costs have made some family-run abattoirs unviable.

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With each closure, farmers are forced to go further afield, putting pressure on remaining abattoirs trying to accommodate increasing numbers.

And UK consumers and government should be worried, BMPA warned, as a lack of a viable abattoir sector could lead to a sharper decline in British farming and more reliance on imported meat.

The BMPA said that, although 'contentious', the meat processing industry could survive without British livestock and, if necessary, could replace meat from UK-reared animals with imported meat.

However, it warned that British livestock farmers could not survive without abattoirs.

CEO of the BMPA, Nick Allen, said: "Many policy decisions have been made in a departmental vacuum, without a full understanding of the impacts and unintended consequences they will have on different parts of the food chain. Often, one problem is fixed, only to create another."

Defra's Small Abattoir Working Group is also seeking to address regulatory and other issues.

But Mr Allen said the election of Labour was an opportunity to reset how government and industry worked together to share workable policies that strengthened the UK's long-term food security.

"Our Meat Industry Manifesto sets out that ideal big picture and offers practical solutions to achieve it," he added.