We need a ‘realistic timeline’ – Katie sets out NPA position on CO2 in Farming Today interview

In a Radio 4 interview, NPA chief policy adviser Katie Jarvis has highlighted the need for a proper transition period, if the government presses ahead with its plans to ban carbon dioxide (CO2) in abattoirs.

Katie was interviewed by the Farming Today programme before the government published the consultation, which states that the preferred option is to ban CO2 with just a three-year transition. This timescale has been described as ‘totally unworkable’ by the NPA.

Katie pointed out that argon, the most likely alternative to CO2 as a means to stun pigs in abattoirs, has been tested, but not at a commercial throughput scale, with tens of thousands of pigs processed a week.

“It’s that level of trial that is needed. There is obviously a cost element and a labour element because you need workforce preparation and the correct safety protocols for this different gas,” she said.

“As the NPA, we’re not saying let’s not do this – we’re saying the priority is getting this system, with argon, specifically tested to make sure it is the appropriate alternative to CO2.”

She stressed that pork processing plants do not consider electrical stunning as a viable alternative for various reasons, including welfare problems when it was used more widely in the past.

Cost implications

Katie highlighted an AHDB economic analysis that showed the argon-based systems would be 257% more expensive than CO2 systems, including both the cost of the gas, the initial capital investment and ongoing running costs, while electrical stunning with improved pre-stun handling was shown to be 165% more expensive than CO2.

“So, there are considerable cost implications here for an industry that, particularly at the moment, is hard pressed financially and struggling with labour. This all needs to be taken into account to make sure we have something that is sustainable.”

She urged the government to approach the next steps in partnership with industry and to ensure the policy is ‘evidence-led and properly resourced’.

“We need a realistic timeline,” she said. “We’re not saying ‘no’ to this, as an industry – we’re saying we need the time and we need the research to be in place to make sure we are making the right decision, so that in 10 years’ time, this isn’t changed again as it was when the process has moved from electrical to CO2 stunning.”

You can listen to the full interview HERE, (approx 8 mins 30 sec), preceded by an interview with Jane Downes from the government’s Animal Welfare Committee explaining the justification for the government’s proposals (7 mins).