Strike by NI vets could affect supply of Christmas favourites like pigs-in-blankets, producers have said

The BMPA said the impact of a five-day stoppage could last for months.

"No slaughter of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry can take place across the whole of Northern Ireland for that week because Official Veterinarians will not be on site in abattoirs. This will immediately spark three major issues, the association said.

“The first is animal welfare, particularly in the pork sector, as pigs begin to back-up on farms.

"The second is a commercial issue 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, it will take months to recover from the loss of those five production days.

BMPA chief executive Nick Allen said the potential third consequence of the strike is that “meat plants will have to cease operations, causing loss of income for those businesses, and disrupting food supply chains”.

He added: “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. It could also prove sensitive for the UK Government which 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 Northern Ireland – even through the new ‘green lane’ – and will demonstrate that the Irish Sea border has not been removed.”

Mr Allen has urged politicians to “step in”.

He said: “Our members are extremely concerned over the lack information and a contingency plan. So far, they’ve heard nothing from the Northern Ireland Civil Service about if and how they plan to prioritise veterinary cover in meat plants to avoid causing animal welfare issues and disruption to the food supply chain.”

Other trade bodies, including those representing road hauliers and retailers, have also express concern over the likely impact of the strike.

Retail NI chief executive Glynn Roberts said: “With the new Windsor Accord arrangements still bedding in and Christmas only around the corner, the timing of this strike for the local retail sector could not have come at a worse time.

“We cannot afford to have strikes like this disputing our local economy any further".

A spokesperson from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said the department fully respects the rights of colleagues to take industrial action and regrets sincerely that it has not been possible to provide a "meaningful pay award" for NI civil service staff.

"If there is no resolution... the industrial action is likely to present issues in relation to animal health and welfare, public health and continuity of agri-food supply chains,” they said.

On Friday, Daera also said the department “has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including hauliers over the last 36 hours and will continue this engagement over the coming days.”

​Mark Tait of Target Transport in Co Antrim said hauliers have faced continuous difficulties as a result of the post-Brexit trading arrangements.

“From the haulage point of view, nothing has changed,” he said.

"There has been no let up. Everything I was doing in September, I am doing exactly the same thing now in October under the Windsor Framework. From our point of view, the bureaucracy still sits there… and if we can’t remove the bureaucracy then we can’t remove the costs that we didn’t have prior to 2021.”

Mr Tait added: "Despite what you might hear in the media – that ‘goods are moving freely into Northern Ireland’ – goods will always get here, but it’s not just as freely as it’s made out to be”.