Silver Fern Farms closes Canterbury abattoir

Silver Fern Farms has confirmed its decision to close slaughter operations at its Canterbury processing plant near Christchurch.

The proposal to shut down the two slaughter chains was outlined to staff on July 22, and affects 225 processing and 24 administration and maintenance staff.

About 70 redeployment opportunities are to be available at the Canterbury lamb cutting operation and the nearby Islington and Belfast plants.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper today said the closure reflected the overall decline in South Island sheep and lamb numbers.

Those numbers were expected to drop by an estimated 2.2 million units next year, as conversions in traditional sheep and lamb farming areas to dairy and alternate land uses translated into lower stock numbers.

- NZPA