With just one abattoir remaining in Sussex, Brighton & Hove Food Partnership and its partners across the county are backing a national call for Government action to protect local food infrastructure, farming, animal welfare and nature recovery. The national call comes as the number of abattoirs across Britain has fallen from around 2,500 to just 200.
More than 150 organisations, businesses, public bodies and industry leaders have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent action to secure the future of local and regional abattoirs across the UK. The signatories argue that local slaughter facilities should be recognised as essential economic infrastructure, vital to food security, farming businesses, rural economies and animal welfare.
The call comes amid growing concern about the decline of local abattoirs. According to the 2025 Abattoir Users Survey, two-thirds of farmers and land managers across the UK have experienced difficulties accessing appropriate abattoir services in the last five years, while one-third have seen an abattoir they used close. If their current abattoir closed, 43% stated they would no longer be able to sell meat locally and almost one in three said they may have to close their meat business altogether.
For Sussex, these findings are particularly significant as there is now only one abattoir remaining in the county, Downland Traditional Meats. Research conducted by Brighton & Hove and Wealden Food Partnerships highlighted the important role local abattoirs play in supporting conservation grazing and nature recovery across Sussex. Grazing livestock help maintain the South Downs’ internationally important chalk grassland habitats, but farmers carrying out this work depend on viable routes to market for their animals. Without local processing facilities, costs increase, journeys become longer (as far as Somerset), animal welfare suffers, and the economic viability of conservation grazing can be undermined.
The Local Meat Report also identified local abattoirs as a critical but often overlooked part of the food system. Small abattoirs are key in supporting many sectors and jobs within the local food system, including farmers, butchers, restaurants and farm shops, as well as consumers seeking locally produced food.
The letter, coordinated by the Abattoir Sector Group, calls on the Government to recognise local slaughter capacity within economic planning, undertake a review of regulation and charging arrangements affecting abattoirs, and establish funding to support local slaughter infrastructure and feasibility work.
Sophie Robinson, Project Manager for Land Use Plus at Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, said:
“In Sussex we have already seen the consequences of losing local slaughter facilities. With just one abattoir remaining in the county, it is essential that local and national decisionmakers recognise these facilities as critical infrastructure, including for nature recovery, and support their long-term future.”
“Local abattoirs are a fundamental part of a resilient local food system. They support farmers to sell locally, enable consumers to understand where their food comes from, and help keep more money within local communities.”
Helen Graham, Food Partnership Officer at Wealden Food Partnership said:
“We know that our last small abattoir is now supporting 2,000 businesses due to the closure of previous small abattoirs. This is not sustainable. We need to push for better infrastructure support for our farmers. If we want to continue to have rare and heritage breeds, organic meat and local meat box schemes, we need to provide the infrastructure that this requires.”
Signatories are urging residents to add their voices to the growing call for action by contacting their MP. Decisions made nationally will have direct consequences for local farmers, food businesses and conservation projects. Residents can ask their MP to support the recognition of local abattoirs as essential infrastructure and back investment and regulatory reform that will enable them to remain viable. For more detail on what to include, use this template.
The letter has been signed by organisations from across the farming, food, nature and animal welfare sectors, including the National Farmers’ Union, The Wildlife Trusts, The National Trust, Soil Association, all ten English National Parks, Horsham District Council on behalf of the South East Abattoir Working Group, and the Alliance of Sussex Food Partnerships.
The signatories conclude that if the UK is serious about food security, thriving rural businesses and nature recovery, it cannot continue to allow the infrastructure connecting farmers to markets to disappear.
Read the full letter here
Read the national press release here
Read the list of signatories here
Read The Local Meat Report and the update
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- Local signatories to the joint letter coordinated by the Abattoir Sector Group include:
- Luke Smith, Downland Traditional Meats
- Helen Graham, Food Partnership Officer, Wealden Food Partnership
- Sophie Robinson, Project Manager – Land Use Plus, Brighton and Hove Food Partnership
- Iona Smith, Coordinator, Rother Food Partnership
- Fiona Revell, Director, Eastbourne Food Partnership
- Hilary Schan, Coordinator, Lewes District Food Partnership
- Dr Patricia Patterson-Vanegas, Green Party Ward Councillor representing Forest Row, Wealden District Council
- Rob Leet, Head of Enterprise, Horsham District Council
- Dr Kieran Mullan MP, Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle
- Sion McGeever, CEO, South Downs National Park Authority
- Jason Lavender, Director, High Weald National Landscape Partnership
- Rob Fairbanks, Director, Surrey Hills National Landscape
- Ali Jakeman, Programme Lead, South Downs Farm Resilience Programme
- Dr Dolly Van Tulleken, Director, Dolitics
- Russ Carrington, Carrington Agricultural
- Richard Brown, R&W Brown
- Martin Hole, Montague Farm
- Peter & Colette Haynes, Ashurst Organics
- Rebecca Heys, Plaw Hatch Farm
- David and Marian Harding, Court Lodge Organics
- Neil Ravenscroft, St Anthony’s Trust Ltd
- Stephen Mills, Richard Poole and Dr Renny Leach, Tablehurst Farm
- Mark Goodman, High Weald Grazier
- Philip and Stephen Hook, PGT Hook and Son
- Chris Stiggs, Forge Farm
- Guy MacNaughton, Local Abattoirs R Key
- The letter calls on Government to secure a sustainable network of local and regional abattoirs as part of the UK’s essential food, nature recovery and economic infrastructure.
- The Local Meat Report, conducted by Brighton & Hove and Wealden Food Partnerships identified local abattoirs as a critical but often overlooked part of the food system, supporting farmers, butchers, restaurants, farm shops and consumers seeking locally produced food.
- The letter is signed by organisations representing farming, food production, animal welfare, conservation, public bodies and local food partnerships from across the UK.
- The Alliance of Sussex Food Partnerships includes Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, Wealden Food Partnership, Lewes District Food Partnership, Rother Food Partnership, and Eastbourne Food Partnership who are all signatories.
MEDIA CONTACT
Sophie Robinson
Land Use Plus Programme
Brighton & Hove Food Partnership
