Statement by North Antrim MLA Jim Allister:
“Cranswick in closing has selflessly met the need of the moment, but it must be said that in addition, before reaching this point, the company, in my view, made sterling efforts to deal with the situation. Sadly, despite best efforts it was not enough and now loss to the farming community and the business is resulting.
“It is quite unfair to paint this company as the problem when Covid-19 is a community wide scourge and has been spread by the irresponsibility of many in the ways in which they show no regard for their own safety or that of others.
“The resulting crisis for the company’s farming customers is immense, with no outlet for their pigs over the coming weeks. This will create animal welfare problems and significant financial loss as overweight pigs fall drastically in value. The DAERA minister needs to urgently address this issue.”