Victoria's small scale livestock producers are struggling to find abattoirs to process their meat, forcing some of the state's top restaurants to cross gourmet items off their menus. At least five abattoirs have stopped processing animals for local farmers as a huge rush of livestock forces meatworks to prioritise more profitable orders.
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00:00 It's taken years for Drew Simons to build up his goat meat business, but he now fears
00:06 for its future.
00:07 We can't get them processed locally and sent to our butcher shops.
00:14 His local abattoir in Kyneton in central Victoria says it will no longer take his goats.
00:19 We'll have to go two and a half, three hours away to get them processed, which is, it's
00:26 unethical on the animal.
00:29 Barrum farmer Lauren Mathers shares his pain.
00:33 Her Melbourne processor will soon stop taking her chickens.
00:36 It's pretty distressing when you've built your whole livelihood on producing ethically
00:40 grown meat and then your pathways to get them processed are diminishing rapidly.
00:46 It's a major hurdle for Melbourne's well-respected paddock-to-plate industry, and it's already
00:51 causing issues at restaurants.
00:54 The ABC understands at least five abattoirs have shut their doors to local and organic
00:59 farmers.
01:00 I always prefer to work with the smaller guys.
01:01 I think they do a better quality product and they really look after the welfare and the
01:05 care of the animals.
01:07 The industry's peak body says the country's abattoirs are filled to the brim, as farmers
01:11 sell off their stock ahead of the predicted hot and dry seasons ahead.
01:16 Very, very small contract kills aren't really making the overall margin for processors.
01:22 Farmers are calling for more abattoirs to be opened in Victoria that focus on paddock-to-plate
01:27 processing so producers can send their produce directly to butchers and restaurants.
01:32 Get around, get around, get around.
01:34 The Victorian government says it's aware of the issue and is identifying ways to support
01:38 smaller producers.
01:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]