Volume 13: Industry Processes and Controls
5. Knackers, hunt kennels and maggot bait farms
Some features of the industry
Trade associations

5.7 Mr Nicholas Hibbett of the CIEH said in oral evidence that, by the mid-1980s, before the outbreak of BSE, knackery was an industry in decline:

Generally speaking knackeries were very much a dying trade. They were decreasing in number, their markets were shrinking, they were having problems meeting new legislation. In many cases for example they were solely dealing with hunt kennels, or with picking up dead stock from farmers. They actually provide a very valuable service to local farmers but they were struggling to meet the new requirements. ¹

5.8 According to State Veterinary Service (SVS) figures, in mid-1990 there were 126 knackers in England, Scotland and Wales, of which 107 sold meat from fallen stock for pet food. By May 1991, this total had dropped to about 100, of which most were selling pet food. At the same time, there were between 250 and 300 hunt kennels, and a few maggot bait breeders. ²

5.9 An indication of the volume of animals processed by knackers and hunt kennels around this period is provided by the monthly figures for August 1990, during which knackers and hunt kennels in England, Scotland and Wales processed approximately 5,346 adult cattle and 13,404 calves. ³

Trade associations

5.10 The Licensed Animal Slaughterers and Salvage Association (LASSA) is the representative body of the majority of operators of licensed knacker's yards and fallen stock collectors in Great Britain. Hunt kennels are represented by a number of associations. These include the Masters of Foxhounds Association.