Support from Politicians for Orkney's Abattoir.

UPDATE - There is now an on line petition for Orkney abattoir that you can sign if you wish.  Your comments are really helpful.  Thank you.

Even before Orkney's abattoir suddenly closed on 11 January our politicians were raising the issue of the vital need for the Protected Name Status of Orkney's meat products to be protected after Brexit.
The Northern Isles MP, Alistair Carmichael "called on the UK Government to prioritise international agreement on protection for geographically special produce after Britain leaves the EU."
Carmichael: Protection for islands produce must continue July 21 2017

A Highlands and Islands MSP, Maree Todd, also in 2017 "demanded that the UK Government upholds the protected food names scheme in Scotland in all future trade deals".  Also reported was that:
"Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing, has written to the UK government’s secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs Michael Gove, to seek assurances around the protection of UK food names in EU trade deals, without which our producers could be commercially disadvantaged."
Northern Isles produce must be protected in future trade deals, warns Highlands and Islands MSP October 7 2017

Orkney has 3 meat products protected in this way.  Orkney Beef and Orkney Lamb gained protected status in 1996, while the application for North Ronaldsay mutton was submitted in 2016.

In March of this year our MP again raised the issue with the UK Government.  ‘PDO’s must be maintained post-Brexit’, says Carmichael
Although this time the article did note that:  "Another problem facing Orkney’s protected food, specifically Orkney Beef and Orkney Lamb, came with the closure of Orkney’s only abattoir in Kirkwall, earlier this year. For a product to hold either the Orkney Beef or Orkney Lamb, name the animal has to be slaughtered here in Orkney, meaning without an abattoir, neither of these products can be produced."

These protected designations are important and reflect the value of Food and Drink in Scotland's economy.
From 2016 in this article from The Orcadian
Scotland’s cabinet secretary for rural affairs, food and the environment, Richard Lochhead, welcomed the applications from A Yarn From North Ronaldsay and the North Ronaldsay Sheep Court, commenting: “Scotland is world-famous for our wonderful produce, and people want to know they are buying the real deal."
“Achieving PGI status for both North Ronaldsay wool and mutton will ensure that consumers at home and abroad have a one hundred per cent guarantee of the product’s authenticity.”

So the lack of local abattoir service in Orkney goes beyond just a few local farmers.  To enable Orkney to contribute more significantly to Scotland's Food Industry, including exports, we must have a local abattoir.

I continue to read the growing number of comments from people on the online petition, so many saying the same thing,  "Orkney MUST have an abattoir".   Increasing awareness of the situation in North Ronaldsay is giving great urgency to this need.

 When the shocking news about the closure of the abattoir broke in January, our politicians were quick to respond.  On 12 January 2018 The Orcadian reported, Rural secretary agrees to “urgent meeting” with abattoir stakeholders, says McArthur.
"The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing MSP has agreed to an “urgent meeting” with stakeholders involved with the abattoir in Kirkwall, according to Orkney MSP Liam McArthur."

What Liam McArthur said in that article does sum up the gravity of the situation.
“This news will be met with genuine shock across Orkney. It has extremely serious implications for farming in the islands, as well as for the wider food and drink sector. These are absolute lynchpins of the Orkney economy.

“I am particularly concerned at the impact this could have on the protected designation status of Orkney beef and lamb, as well as the consequences for other local livestock producers. Likewise, there seem to be serious questions about how we deal with animal welfare issues going forward in the absence of an emergency slaughter facility.

“I have already spoken this afternoon with Orkney Islands Council, Orkney Mart and local meat producers to discuss the next steps. In addition, I have been in contact with the Cabinet Secretary, Fergus Ewing MSP, who has agreed to an urgent meeting next week with local stakeholders to consider both the short-term and longer-term options.

“As I have said before, however, for an economy and community so dependent on high-quality livestock farming, it seems inconceivable to me that Orkney could be left without a local abattoir.”

More meetings were reported in the following weeks.

After the meeting in February hopes were raised for both a swift solution to the need for a new small abattoir and possible temporary reopening of the existing building, and this was the perceived situation in Orkney throughout the following months.

Then earlier this month the news broke that efforts to raise funding for the capital cost of the new abattoir hadn't progressed as everyone had hoped.

Once again our local politicians have been swift to respond, and I have to take some measure of hope in what they say.  When Orkney's MSP, Liam McArthur, who knows Orkney and its rural economy so well says, "As I have said before, for a community as heavily reliant on agriculture as Orkney, the idea that we could find ourselves without the means of slaughtering livestock locally seems inconceivable" and "I intend to continue doing what I can do to ensure no stone is left unturned in pursuing a solution", we know we aren't fighting unsupported.

A Highlands and Islands MSP, Maree Todd, in the following week, when talking about Fergus Ewing's visit to Orkney next month said, "An Orkney-specific agricultural issue that I am sure Fergus will pick up on is the case for an abattoir for the islands, and it is bound to be at the top of his agenda when he visits next month."

Our hope is that Mr Ewing will indeed be able to fully understand the urgent and critical need for Orkney to have a local abattoir service.  We hope that he will be able to work with our local politicians & leaders to bring this about.  That they can enable Orkney to have the vital public infrastructure of an abattoir that will equip us to meed the challenges of the coming months and years with increased resilience.  Indeed more than that.  That we farmers and food producers in Orkney can, with a local abattoir, make a growing and positive contribution to Scotland's economy through our livestock and meat.