Northern Irish vets and meat inspectors have begun a five-day strike today amid fears over heavy disruption to the supply chain.
Food production and border controls in Northern Ireland now face chaos after government vets agreed to strike from midnight Monday (30 October).
It means no slaughter of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry can take place across the whole of Northern Ireland as veterinarians will not be on site in abattoirs.
Union members in the Veterinary Service Animal Health Group (VSAHG) voted for the action.
The British Meat Processors Association has warned of 'major issues', including animal welfare concerns, farmers left unable to sell livestock and plants ceasing operation.
Nick Allen, CEO of the body, said its members were 'extremely concerned' over the lack information and a contingency plan.
“Meat plants will have to cease operations, causing loss of income for those businesses, and disrupting food supply chains," he warned.
"This is a particular worry as we enter the busiest period of the year in the run up to Christmas when our members are preparing festive products like hams and pigs-in-blankets for the Christmas market.”
Animal welfare is also a concern among the industry, particularly for the pork sector, as pigs begin to back-up on farms.
There are also commercial issues as those animals become too big and ‘out of scope’ for supermarket shelves, resulting in farmers unable to sell their livestock.
And because of the numbers of animals involved, there are fears it could take months to recover from the loss of those five production days.
Mr Allen said it could also prove sensitive for the UK government, as it is currently working on an agreement with the DUP over the Windsor Framework.
"The vets’ walkout could expose the scale of border checks that are still needed to get food from the UK mainland to NI – even through the new ‘green lane’ – and will demonstrate that the Irish Sea border has not been removed."
He added: "On behalf of producers and processors, we would urge government to step in to engage with all parties, draw up some emergency plans and, ultimately, help to settle this dispute."
