MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands new Abattoir raises doubts over Islander participation.

A series of positions in the Falklands newly constructed Abattoir (Slaughterhouse) are not all designed for ex-patriate officers who will be recruited from England, said Head of the Falkland Islands Development Corporation, Richard Baker. Speaking at a public meeting in Stanley this week, Mr. Baker said that ?hopefully we will get some local (Islander) applicants, 4-5 at least'.

The Abattoir, which is sited 4 miles out of Port Stanley, is nearing completion and Government hopes that once it becomes operational, lucrative contracts with the British Ministry of Defense (MOD) to sell lamb, mutton and beef for consumption by the 1500 Troops stationed on the Islands, can be entered into. Currently the MOD refuse to allow their Servicemen and Women to eat local meat products ?as the animals are not slaughtered to European Economic Union (EEC) standards'. Hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue have been lost by Falklands farmers as a result of this stipulation. The new Abattoir will include all the latest technology and methods for the slaughtering of animals as required by the EEC, although an anticipated ?By-products plant' has now been dropped from the plan.

An advertisement in a recent issue of the weekly newspaper ?Penguin News' listed 23 vacancies with salaries ranging from US$7 ? 12 per hour, ?depending on the applicants qualifications and experience'. A qualified Livestock Supervisor and Stockman could earn up to $US480 per week, or almost $US2.000.00 monthly. However a member of the public expressed his concern over the number of people that will be required to operate the Abattoir, and doubted that there were enough qualified workers available from within the community to take up the 23 positions.

Mr. Baker said, ?we want to employ local people as much as possible in the Abattoir', but he agreed that it may be difficult to find the right type of person in the immediate future.

The Falklands Government are hoping that in addition to supplying British Troops in the future they will also find markets elsewhere, and with the Falklands being free of Foot and Mouth disease it is not inconceivable that Falklands meat products could well be in demand should the current epidemic continue in the months ahead.