THERE is “relief all round” in the pork industry after the Government announced an extra 800 visas for foreign butchers, but the sector has called for more action to solve the problem of labour shortages long-term.

Experts have attributed staff shortages in the industry to an “inherent lack of interest” from UK workers as it struggles to attract new recruits, saying many people find it “off-putting”.

The Government announced the extra visas on Thursday following warnings that up to 150,000 pigs could be destroyed as waste due to a backlog of animals ready for slaughter.

Overseas pork butchers will be eligible to apply for six-month visas from the existing allocation in the Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme up until December 31.

The Government said the move is temporary and is in addition to foreign butchers already being eligible since December 2020 to apply to come to the UK through the existing skilled worker route.

Mike Sheldon, pork sector board chair of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board said the extra workers will make a “significant difference” to stretched workforces.

He told the PA news agency: “It’s caused relief all round. I don’t think you’ll find any negative comment about it from within the industry at all.

“The situation was getting very real and very serious so we are relieved.

“It’s slightly muted because we were hoping for more than 800 and hoping for a longer period than six months, but it’s a significant move on the part of the Government for sure.

“You’ll have seen reports about the number of pigs being culled on farms and although it’s very difficult to see exactly what is happening, those numbers were going up.

“Almost any number that was announced would not be enough but 800 will make a difference, provided we can get them in quickly enough.

“On its own it won’t solve the problem but it will make a significant difference.

“This is an absolutely needed short-term help.

“I think the Government has done the right thing, one can always ask for more, but they have done the right thing.”

Pig vet Duncan Berkshire described the announcement as a “light at the end of the tunnel”.

He told the BBC’s Today programme: “There’s a general positive feeling across the whole pig sector that the Prime Minister and the Government have indeed now listened, that they’ve engaged properly this week, which has been a relief, and there is an element of a light at the end of that tunnel.

“(But) we need… to be swift, we need them to be over here as soon as possible and we need them to be on the butchery lines as soon as possible.”

Asked about reasons for the lack of worker numbers, Mr Berkshire said: “There is an inherent lack of interest, I would say, to work in our sector from UK workers as well.”

Mr Sheldon agreed, saying the lack of interest is “frustrating.”

He added: “This has been long standing. It’s been very difficult to attract UK workers into working in abattoirs and meat processing plants.

“It’s hard work, it’s physically demanding, people are usually working in cold temperatures… and for one reason or another a large number of people find the idea of working in a meat processing plant off-putting.

“It’s very frustrating because we think on the contrary, it’s a highly skilled job and it’s pretty well paid.”

Mr Sheldon acknowledged that structural changes to help the industry grow will take time to implement.

“We do recognise there’s a challenge here,” he said. “The rules of the game have changed.

“The amount of effort to be put into building career structures, building trading structures, ways of attracting people into the industry, working conditions, salaries… all of those things need to be worked on.

“We know that has to happen but that’ll take quite a long time, so this is an absolutely needed short-term help.”