Why are livestock farmers and butchers at risk?

A recent survey by the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) found that nationally, 80% of respondents have lost access to their abattoir in the past five years or are about to lose access. Communities across the country are collectivising to build micro-abattoirs, and AFSA and state-based allied organisations are lobbying for reforms to simplify this process given its increasing urgency.

The issue is accelerating as companies vertically integrate and/or are bought up by large multinationals who would rather export industrial meat than feed Australian communities.

Farmers’ and butchers’ livelihoods are threatened, animals are being transported much longer distances, cold chain logistics are being found or developed at great additional cost, and access to local, pasture-raised meat could disappear, giving way to more feedlot and industrial meat.

What can you do right now?

• Write a letter to your local MP and let them know you’re deeply concerned about the future of local food production. We’ve put together a template which can be addressed to your local member, to let them know that we need urgent reforms to enable producers to build their own micro-abattoirs on farms.
• Boycott supermarket meat! Buy directly from farmers or from your local, independent butcher!
• Speak out on social media! Let governments know what we stand to lose if abattoirs continue to close their doors to smallholders, and we have no support in place to build micro abattoirs. Here’s an example of what you can do to show what will be lost in your local community. Don’t forget to tag us (@ausfoodsov) so we can share your message across our platforms. If you’re having trouble clicking through to the link, we’ve pasted this example below:

• Become an AFSA member. We are a farmer and First Peoples-led, volunteer-run organisation, and we rely solely on membership to keep our work to transform the food system going.

What is AFSA doing?

AFSA has been hard at work on the National Abattoir Campaign, which includes pulling together important information and resources for farmers to take action on building their own micro-abattoirs, as well as working collaboratively with state governments to get urgent measures enacted to safeguard the future of small-scale livestock farming. This includes:

Meat Collective Starter Pack

(Member-only resource), which includes documentation shared by the Meat Collective @ Jonai:

• Micro-abattoir building design
• Abattoir Construction Budget & Project Plan
• Draft OpEx
• Planning approval process
• Food safety program
• Meat collective governance
• Avoiding debt & funding your micro abattoir
• EMP/Waste Management

If you would like to grab a copy of the Meat Collective Starter Pack, please ensure you sign up for AFSA membership, then email us to get access;

What have we achieved so far?

1. After 7 years of lobbying by AFSA and its members, the Victorian Government included Recommendation 27 in its Parliamentary Inquiry into Food Supply in Victoria in 2024, which states:

That Agriculture Victoria work with the Victorian Farmers Federation, PrimeSafe and commercial abattoirs to negotiate small livestock producers’ ongoing access to kill facilities in the short-to-medium term. The Victorian Government amend the Meat Industry Act 1993 (Vic) to specifically provide for and define micro-abattoirs and the Victorian Planning Provisions to introduce micro-abattoirs (including mobile micro-abattoirs) as a Section 1 use in the Farming Zone, Rural Activity Zone, Green Wedge Zone and the Green Wedge A Zone. The Victorian Government support small scale livestock producers to establish micro-abattoirs (including mobile micro-abattoirs) in communities which can demonstrate a need for this critical shared agricultural infrastructure.

2. In December 2024, Agriculture Victoria released the On farm, small scale or mobile abattoirs e-guide, to help farmers and planners understand the approvals required to develop an on-farm small scale fixed or mobile abattoir.