B.C. farmers urge province to issue immediate at-home slaughtering licences

Some farmers in B.C. are urging the provincial government for fast licences to allow them to slaughter their own animals at home.

They say the COVID-19 pandemic has made the matter urgent because if food supply is disrupted they won't be able to deliver meat quickly and safely to customers by sending their livestock to a slaughterhouse or abattoir beforehand.

"There's concern about our own health and well-being, and concern about having to travel," explains Lisa Aylard, President of the Alberni Farmers' Institute, on Vancouver Island.

The Institute represents around 30 farmers in the Alberni Valley, and serves to promote the well-being of local agriculture industries. There are around 30 other regional farming institutes in the province.

Aylard said the demand for local meat has increased during the pandemic, and more customers want to know exactly where their meat is coming from.

"If our animals are slaughtered at home, they're 100 per cent traceable," she said.

Institute requests two immediate licences

Last week, the Institute sent a letter formally re-requested the province agree to a request for the entire region to be automatically issued two slaughtering licences. (The regional district made the original request in 2017, but no decision was made, the Institute said.)

Class D licences allow farmers to annually slaughter up to 25 of their own animals, or other peoples' animals, for direct sale to customers or food establishments.

Class E licences allow on-farm slaughter of up to 10 animals, for direct sales that are restricted to the region the meat was produced.

Currently, there are 18 non-designated areas where farmers can only apply for a Class E licence if an abattoir is located over an hour away.

Aylard said there will soon be only two abattoirs on Vancouver Island, as one in Nanaimo is closing. To kill her livestock, she has to drive at least two hours away from Port Alberni, and the whole process can take days.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that it is "deeply concerned with the potential impacts the COVID emergency will have on businesses," including farmers.

It said a consultation with local governments around Class D licensing occurred from June to September of 2019, and a review of the province's rural slaughter capacity is ongoing.

A BC-wide problem

Janet Thony, President of the District A Farmers Institute, which covers all of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, said farmers across B.C. having been calling for the government to loosen the licensing restrictions since 2004, when they were instated in response to the mad cow disease outbreak.

She said that while the Ministry of Agriculture may have concerns over safety and cleanliness, she argues home-slaughter is just as safe because "if you're not super clean when you're slaughtering, you're not doing it right anyways."

Karen Persson, from K & G Persson Farms, in Golden, B.C., agrees.

She says she's witnessed "bug-infested" slaughterhouses, and it's more than likely farmers are working in clean conditions, given that home-facilities are frequently inspected by the public health authority.

In 2018, Persson and her husband spent over a year persuading the government for a Class E licence, which ultimately led the government to lower the travel time restrictions to one hour, instead of two.

Thony said abattoirs are a hassle because most farmers slaughter their animals at the same time of year.

"You've got to book months, sometimes a year in advance to get a [slaughter] date," Thony explained, adding that the stress animals are put under leading up to their slaughter can cause "adrenaline-laced meat."

She said she's worried the government may close abattoirs as the pandemic continues, which would leave farmers without the proper licences with no options.