" On a recent visit to our local abattoir, taking a steer for killing, I heard some more very disturbing news.
I understand that the abattoir has been approached by a Defra vet to ask them if they would have capacity to devote a day a week to killing 'cull ewes' [i.e. older breeding ewes] later in the year. Further inquiry suggests that Defra is looking around the country's abattoirs to find capacity for killing numbers of ewes equivalent to about 80% of the National breeding flock, and expects to kill this massive proportion of our sheep toward the end of the year.
The consensus seems to be that at that time, Poland will enter the EU, bringing a surplus of cheap sheep; and Defra plans to take this opportunity to organise a mass killing of the British sheep flock
My informant guesses that 'as soon as we start bombing Saddam' the necessary legislation will 'fly through' - to require all sheep identified by the barmy National Scrapie Plan to be killed; and the Defra 'Supervets' will get to work under the umbrella of the Animal Health Bill - or some other unsubstantiated 'TSE' scare will be used as the pretext.
Do you have any information about what is brewing? Is there time to do any thing to prevent a Defra enforced mass killing of our sheep?"

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"He is an active and experienced farmer and Managing Director of our small local abattoir. I think he knows what he is talking about. He pointed out that practically all the medium sized abattoirs have gone or are on their knees - he quoted lots of names - and that those that are still struggling-on will welcome the extra business.
He also expects the hunt kennels to be given licences as knacker's yards so that they can benefit from the ban on farm burial of stock - and a 'sweetener' to cover the banning of their hunting activities.
We weren't allowed to have the tongue from our steer. 'Defra are collecting them for analysis'. He recounted with great joy how he had 'phoned the lab assistant at the SVS lab. to ask about the bullock tongues he had sent for analysis. To his surprise he was told that they don't deal with bullock tongues - only bovine tongues! He had explained that bullocks are bovine. The meat inspector who had been in the office at the time had been incredulous.
He has been questioning why his abattoir, having recently updated its drainage to the local water authority's requirements, is to be obliged to collect waste blood for separate disposal. He was told that it must be collected in case it contains rogue prions which could get into the local sewerage systems and hence into water supplies.... he pointed out that rogue prions in the blood would also be in the meat.......
I am seriously worried about the future of our farm and any others in the UK."