Sallygarden Smallholding - The Forum For Sustainable Living

I live in Cavan now. What is the story on getting livestock butchered in Ireland? My brother takes his live cattle to a local butcher who takes care of everything from killing to wrapping the meat. The meat is picked up from the butchers by people who have bought halves or whole steer for the freezer and my brother ends up with free meat with a small profit for his pastured beef, but that is in the states.

For pigs he and 10 friends buy hogs and rent a space one or two Saturdays per year to butcher and wrap them, make sausage and scrapple etc with the proper tools and room to move.

For chickens they can be taken to a local group similar to the Amish for butchering. Though my mother used to do it herself....we rarely ate chicken because of that.

I'd love to know what is the done thing here. Thanks

HI Karen

I posted a reply ages ago but it got eaten by cyberspace! Thats a good question. According to EU law home slaughter is illegal. According to Irish law it seems that it is legal for a farmer to slaughter an occasional pig at home. I believe from reading forums etc that other livestock can be dispatched at home if it is injured.

I think many smallholders keep and slaughter their own poultry. There are only 6 abattoirs licensed to kill goats in Ireland. There used to be mobile slaughter units but I think EU law put an end to it.

Also according to EU law I'm told by others that it's allegedly illegal to butcher (ie cut up, not slaughter) meat anywhere but a licensed abattoir, so a butcher cutting up meat to sell on his premises is breaking the law if the law is followed to the letter. Obviously it isn't, otherwise all butchers would be out of work.

So the law is somewhat grey and contradictory in areas and open to common sense interpretation.