Abattoirs may cut jobs over foot and mouth

By Nigel Hunt

LONDON (Reuters) - England's abattoirs look set to start laying off workers on Wednesday with a ban on livestock movement linked to foot and mouth disease lifted in Scotland but remaining in place south of the border, industry sources said.

"I think this will be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of places like us if they don't allow us to start killing before the end of the week," said Roger Carr, owner of Simply Halal abattoir near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.

"We've got people with mortgages that are worried to death this morning," he added.

A ban of livestock movement was imposed after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease was confirmed at a farm in southern England on Friday.

Abattoirs have been calling for movement to be resumed under special license direct from farms to abattoirs, a step taken on Tuesday by Scotland's devolved government.

Carr first visited an abattoir when he was six or seven years old and entered the business when he was 15.

"I will be laying people off if they don't let us have livestock direct from farmers. I don't know if I would reopen," he said.

Hopes were raised, however, on Wednesday afternoon with media reporting that the government may be about to announce the lifting of some restrictions on animal movement.