In Britain, rules implemented this year in response to E.U. standards have forced more than 20 percent of the nation's small slaughterhouses to close. The rules require official veterinary surgeons to be on hand throughout the slaughter. While other countries have publicly financed these costs or imposed a set fee per animal, Britain has required that each slaughterhouse pay its actual costs. Small and mid-sized abattoirs currently process about half of Britain's meat. They form an essential link in the supply chain and are necessary to the survival of small livestock farmers, as well as independent butchers, farmers' markets and small retailers.
Large slaughterhouses are no substitute.
They are often located far from the remote areas where small farmers raise livestock and generally refuse to handle small orders and specialty animals like goats and venison. The new E.U. food standards have been especially hard to stomach in Italy, where four out five firms have fewer than 15 employees. To conform to the standards, retail food shops have had to spend thousands of dollars remodeling and buying new refrigerators and other equipment. Tens of thousands of these shops have closed their doors. Restaurants are struggling as well to afford new ovens and high-tech refrigerators with computerized temperature monitoring.