A group of farmers have 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, is set to close this month in what has been described as a 'devastating blow' to the local farming community.
Established in the 1930s, the abattoir, which has a customer base of over 900, serves farms and consumers in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and beyond.
A team of local farmers have created the Save Long Compton Abattoir Steering Group, who are working to rescue the 'essential rural service'.
They are seeking to attract a combination of private and public funding, via a new private company, to purchase the freehold site and business, and to improve the abattoir.
Without Long Compton, the steering group warns that farmers' businesses will become less sustainable, along with a risk to animal welfare and increased food miles.
"Without a thriving local abattoir, our farm businesses, conservation work, meat retail, food system and rural economy all become less sustainable," the group said.
"With the future of all our other local abattoirs hanging in the balance, it is vital we ensure Long Compton remains in operation."
The steering group currently proposes setting up a new limited company and funding the purchase of the site and business by selling shares in multiples of £1,000.
It says it will need to raise in excess of £3m: "We are thus, in the first instance, seeking expressions of interest (not your final commitment) from potential investors like you, big and small.
"If successful we can then progress to the next stage of negotiation," the group states.
The smaller abattoir sector has an important role in maintaining food security, but numbers have fallen drastically in recent years.
During the period between 2019 and 2021, the sector saw the closure of 14 small, family-run abattoirs.
In response, Defra recently launched a £4 million fund to boost the sustainability and efficiency of small abattoirs.
The Smaller Abattoir Fund awards capital grants from £2,000 up to a maximum of £60,000.
