THE BSE crisis worsened last night when three of the largest pig processing plants said they would refuse to accept animals for slaughter until the rendering problem is solved.
The renderers, who process offal from the plants, warned last week that they would not process any more offal from tomorrow because they could no longer sell bonemeal or bonemeal products at home or abroad.
Under the Abattoirs Act and other hygiene regulations, meat plants must remove offal daily. Companies are not permitted to store offal because of health and environmental hazards, so the plants cannot operate without this service.
According to Mr Liam Ryan, chairman of the IFA's national pig producers' committee, the Galtee, Kerry and Monaghan plants have told producers to keep their supplies at home.
"Galtee is one of the largest plants in the country and kills over 8,000 pigs a week, and it will not be operating from tomorrow," said Mr Ryan, who farms at Kilbrittain, Co Cork.
"I also have been told that Kerry Co Op will not be taking pigs and that the largest plant in the northern part of the country, Monaghan, killed on Saturday, but will not kill on Tuesday."
Mr Ryan added that this latest twist in the BSE crisis would impact heavily on pig farmers and could lead to a scarcity of pork for the home and export markets before the end of the week.
He said he would be suggesting that ESB power stations be used to incinerate offal if the renderers implemented their threat.
Mr Peter Smith, chairman of the IFA's national poultry committee, and Mr Michael Holmes, chairman of the national sheep committee, said they had heard nothing positive from the factories regarding poultry and sheep supplies. Both said their commodity areas faced serious difficulties if the renderers went ahead with their threat, especially at a time when demand for both products was rising.
Mr Ciaran Fitzgerald, of the employers' organisation IBEC, said that he, too, was receiving reports of other plants refusing animals. "We are talking about 15,000 jobs in total and I hope that there will be a resolution to the difficulties when the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, meets all parties concerned tomorrow morning."
A spokesman for the Minister said yesterday Mr Yates was aware of the problems facing the industry and would attempt to resolve them tomorrow.
Abroad, the 1,608 Irish cattle on board the livestock carrier, Galloway Express, which is anchored off the Egyptian port of Alexandria, have still not been off loaded, but may be later today, a spokesman for the Live Exporters' Association said last night.