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Knackery owners will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday, as talks with the Department of Agriculture remain at a stalemate.
They have said that without a support package from the Department, knackery operations will not continue “as it is no longer viable to stay operational.”
Chair of the Animal Collectors Association (ACA) Michael McKeever said the group has been in negotiations with the Department since last August to late September.
“We were in negotiations and we thought there would be a deal in place from January, which wasn’t in place.
“We’re now coming into the busiest time of the year and do not know where we’re going. We’re in limbo.
“There was a temporary bridging scheme in place to keep us going but as of December that was discontinued; we’re under pressure. The new scheme [which was to come into effect] in January hasn’t been agreed,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal on Saturday.
Meeting
McKeever said the group had a meeting with the Department on 31 January and agreement could not be reached.
“It’s gone two weeks now and the Department haven’t got back to us with anything concrete for a new scheme. We’re in a situation now where we don’t know where we are.
“We’re holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss where we go from here. The can has been kicked down the line for us. It’s very frustrating trying to run a business. We’re not viable since last September and we’re no further on since then,” he said.
Strike action
In September knackeries across the country closed their gates in a nationwide protest.
Without Department funding, knackery operations will not continue “as it is no longer viable to stay operational”.
A lack of competition in the rendering sector, combined with a collapse in the hide trade and an increase in the seasonality of the business, are some of the reasons knackery owners are calling for funding from Government.
Responsibility
IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell said the IFA has highlighted the weaknesses with the current fallen animal collection service to the Department for a number of years.
“The Department of Agriculture is legislatively bound to ensure an efficient and competitive infrastructure is available to all farmers. The current infrastructure, through the licensed knackeries, is failing to deliver this service.”
Since 2013, farmers have been left exposed to continuous and unacceptable price increases, the IFA said, adding that in some cases knackeries are refusing to collect animals.
Farrell said the Department must provide all farmers with a guaranteed collection service significantly below the exorbitant and unacceptable fees currently charged by some knackeries.
These fees have increased again in the past number of weeks, it said.
Farrell said the Department must move as a “matter of urgency” to reduce the costs for farmers and ensure no fallen animals are left on farms.
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