The maximum grant amount available through the government's Smaller Abattoir Fund has increased from £60,000 to £75,000, Defra has confirmed.
The fund, launched in December 2023, aims to help improve productivity, enhance animal welfare, and encourage investment in new technologies at small abattoirs.
As well as an increase in the maximum grant, Defra confirmed that the fund's intervention rate has increased from 40% to 50%.
Smaller abattoirs are seen as a vital part of rural economies, offering a higher value route to market for native and rare breeds, which many large abattoirs are generally unable or unwilling to process.
They also support higher standards of animal welfare by reducing journey times to slaughter.
However, there has been a huge decline in small abattoirs in recent years, with the most recent estimates showing only 49 remain in England, Wales and Scotland.
During the period between 2019 and 2021, the sector saw the closure of 14 small, family-run abattoirs.
If closures continued at the current rate, there will be none left open by 2030, according to rural campaigners at the Sustainable Food Trust.
Explaining more about the fund's changes, Defra said it was aware that some eligible abattoirs may have hard-to-predict cash flows.
"To maximise their ability to access the fund, applicants will therefore be able to make up to 3 separate applications throughout the application window, requesting a total grant of £75,000.
"The increased intervention rate of 50% means an abattoir applying to purchase an eligible item costing £10,000 would receive £5,000 in grant funding towards the item."
The window to apply to the Smaller Abattoir Fund opened on 13 December 2023 and will close on 30 September 2024.
Earlier this year, a group of farmers launched a £3 million funding bid to save a small abattoir located in the Cotswolds from closing for good.
Long Compton Abattoir, one of the last small abattoirs in the region, closed in January in what was described as a 'devastating blow' to the local farming community.
