A ‘really dark day’ awaits farmers with the global gas crisis threatening the unnecessary cull of 100,000 pigs.
CO2 is needed to stun animals so they can be killed humanely, but the shutdown of two fertiliser plants which produce carbon dioxide as a by-product has left abattoirs with a shortage.
A pig farmer in the south east of England, Kate, said: ‘If abattoirs are unable to use CO2 for stunning they won’t slaughter many pigs at all, so that is going to add to this backlog on British farms.
‘We’re facing a really dark day on UK farms because if we get to a point that we have to euthanise pigs on farm simply because they can’t then get butchered, that would be devastating.’
Similar scenarios are feared by poultry farmers, with the British Meat Processors Association predicting pork and chicken could disappear from supermarket shelves within two weeks.
The CO2 shortage could have implications elsewhere in the food industry.
The gas is used by pubs to push beer out of kegs and carbonate fizzy drinks.
It can also increase the shelf life of bread and boost the productivity of cucumber crops.
Wholesale prices for gas have surged 250% this year, with a 70% rise since August alone, leading to calls for support from the industry and the collapse of some smaller energy firms.
Concerns over gas come as farms across the nation struggle to attract enough staff following Brexit and the pandemic.
Farm manager Kate added: ‘We have relied heavily in the past on EU workers. They’ve gone home with Covid and Brexit on the horizon and they just haven’t come back.
‘We’re asking government to do something, such as a Covid recovery visa or putting butchers on the shortage list of occupations because we simply don’t have the people at the moment to fill those spaces.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘We are monitoring this situation closely and are in regular contact with the food and farming organisations and industry, to help them manage the current situation.’
CO2 shortages were last seen in 2018 when there were concerns that crumpets may have to stop being made and pubs could run out of beer during England’s run to the World Cup semi-final.
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