Is Canadian pig euthanasia waiting?

Olymel's Vallee-Jonction site normally slaughters approximately 36.000 pigs per week. Employees of the company have been on strike for 3 months. The unions are in talks with Olymel about better wages. So far, the unions have rejected the company's proposals. They say they are waiting for a 'serious offer'. The consultation is at an impasse.

Share of pigs sold in the region
About 21.000 of the 36.000 animals processed by the slaughterhouse each week can be placed at slaughterhouses in the region, including across the border in the United States. There is no room for 15.000 animals each week, which means that about 130.000 animals ready for slaughter are currently waiting in the stables for processing.

The Canadian pig farmers' association speaks of a serious situation and fears that if the problems are not solved quickly, there is a risk of euthanasia.

Conflicting interests
The spokesman for the pig farmers speaks of a potentially enormous food waste: "Each pig accounts for about 600 meals, the amount of food wastage at stake is astronomical". He has called on the Quebec labor minister to mediate and bring the arguing employer and employees back to the table, in the hopes that work will resume as soon as possible.

However, the union spokesman said his supporters are "more motivated than ever" to fight for the better conditions they deserve. Pig farmers experience the remark as a slap in the face, where they have been in uncertainty about the sale of their animals for more than 3 months.

Last year, animals were also euthanized in the United States due to lack of slaughter capacity. It raises more and more questions left and right about the risks of an increasingly concentrated slaughter sector.