FAIRVIEW, Alta. – Turning a farm shop into a mobile slaughter and processing facility is testament to the adage “build it and they will come.”
Ever since partners Roy Beaver and Gerry Wegreen turned Beaver’s newly built farm shop into a processing plant last fall, it has been packed with moose, deer, bison and beef.
“We’re busy enough for both of us to take a wage out of here,” said Wegreen of Fairview, Alta., during a break from cutting and wrapping a bison.
Wegreen slaughters the animal on the producer’s farm and disposes of the specified risk material at the farm before bringing the animal back to the plant for cutting and wrapping.
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Northside Packers is one of 90 mobile slaughtering facilities in the province. Mobile slaughtering plants are licensed by the provincial government, but operate under a permit from the local regional health authority.
“A lot of mobile operators are flourishing,” said Cliff Munroe, head of the regulatory services branch of Alberta Agriculture.
The mobile slaughtering business is booming because of the American restriction on Canadian beef resulting in a wait of several months to get cattle slaughtered and processed at the 50 provincially inspected plants.
“It has opened the door for mobilers to do a lot more work. They’re having all kinds of business thrown their way,” said Munroe.
The mobile plants are not in-spected so they are allowed to kill animals only for a producer’s own use. Each month the mobile business is required to submit a list to Alberta Agriculture of people who have had animals killed and processed. A person with more animals slaughtered than could reasonably be eaten by the family is warned by the provincial office.
“We’ve given lots and lots (of warnings),” said Munroe, who said a warning usually is enough to stop excess slaughter. It is also illegal to give away uninspected meat.
In the past three months, two producers have been charged with selling or giving away uninspected meat after they were warned. At least two mobile operators have also been charged with buying meat and reselling it.
