Neil has written to the Prime Minister to express his concerns about the situation facing the pig farming industry as a result of a shortage of butchers. 

As a result of a number of EU butchers leaving the UK following Brexit, there is now a shortage of skilled butchers in the British pig-meat industry, meaning there are now too many pigs than we are able to slaughter. 

Neil urged the Prime Minister to consider a temporary visa for EU butchers to come and slaughter British pigs before they have to be culled and the meat wasted, which would buy time for more British butchers to train. The butchering industry is a high-skilled and high-paid industry, and workers will take 12-18 months to fully train in the role. We need to plan long-term for more British butchers but a short-term solution is needed from abroad. 

Neil said: 

"We have an animal welfare issue with too many pigs on farms, and farmers now face culling animals which not only wastes great British meat but jeopardises their businesses. We need an urgent fix and a temporary relaxation of immigration rules until we can train more homegrown butchers. I have made this very clear to the Prime Minister."

Neil was interviewed on this issue by GB News. See a clip from the interview here.