Crofters are being urged to help rescue Stornoway’s loss-making abattoir by making full use of the facility when it reopens for business on Monday (August 31).
The Rigs Road abattoir, the only one in the UK operated by a local authority, will operate until Friday, December 18.
The call has been backed by SAC Consulting chief for the Western Isles, Kenny Macleod, who warned in a personal Facebook post: “I am loath to say this, but basically this is possibly (I really hope not) the last chance saloon for the abattoir due to falling numbers of stock going through.
“I am glad that the slogan USE IT OR LOSE IT IS BEING USED. I hope this message gets through to people. In 1990 15.000 sheep and 1.000 cattle were slaughtered at the abattoir. When the Comhairle took over the running of the abattoir in 2002, there were hundreds of abattoirs in the UK; in 2026, this number is down to under 100.
“Since 2018, the number of sheep slaughtered at the abattoir has gone from 3000 in 2018 to 1500 in 2026. Cattle throughput has stayed steady at a 100 every year. If this downward trajectory continues, then the place will close itself.
“Granted, sheep and cattle numbers have fallen in Lewis & Harris. In 1990, the number of sheep in the Western Isles was 196,000; this number now i believe, is under 100,000.
“As I said earlier 1000 cattle were slaughtered in the abattoir in 1990; the number of cattle now in Lewis &Harris is probably around the 800-900 mark. Prices have been reduced by 5% this year to see if this will help. It really is USE IT OR LOSE IT!”
Warning that there is a real danger of the abattoir closing unless it is supported by the local community, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has laid out the key benefits.
These include:
• Vets monitor the overall welfare of animals to ensure that they are healthy and treated humanely.
• Vets carry out post-mortem checks, ensuring they don’t contain anything harmful, like Hydatid Disease – a parasitic infection that causes cysts to grow in the liver and other organs of humans.
• All carcasses are checked and stamped to ensure that they are fit for human consumption.
• The abattoir has regular audits from Food Standards Scotland and Quality Meat Scotland, ensuring everything is being handled safely and hygienically.
• There have been cases of people getting ill from eating infected meat from animals not killed in a slaughterhouse.
A spokesperson for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said: “Members of the public in Lewis and Harris planning to kill livestock are encouraged to contact Stornoway Abattoir to make a booking. Stornoway Abattoir currently operates at a loss. Increased usage of the abattoir will support the continued availability of a safe, hygienic, and regulated abattoir facility in the Western Isles.”
In June, councillors agreed to slash Stornoway abattoir fees for a year in a bid to save it from closure.
Fees for the facility were cut by 5% in a bid to halt its spiral of declining use and mounting debt following a last-ditch £60,000 lifeline from the Crown Estate Fund to keep the doors open for the 2026/27 financial year.
The resulting fee cut brought charges broadly in line with 2024 levels.
June’s financial intervention was deemed necessary after the 2025 season saw a massive £75,000 shortfall. The income generated was £104,000, well short of the £179,000 required to break even.
According to a report by the Comhairle’s Chief Officer for Assets and Infrastructure, previous attempts to make the service “cost neutral” through fee hikes may have backfired, leading to a situation where “overspend having to be absorbed has become the norm.”
Sheep numbers fell by 17% in 2025, while cattle throughput dropped by 24% and pigs slumped by 72%.
Since 2018, sheep throughput has collapsed by 48%, a trend that has mirrored an 81% increase in fees over the same period.
The report informed councillors: “There were strong arguments that the reduced throughput figures are a result of the significantly rising fees”.
By applying a 5% reduction, it is now hoped that an increase in throughput will offset the loss of income.
The Crown Estate Fund £60,000 bailout is seen as a temporary fix, with the report warning that the level of emergency funding may not be available in the future.
Despite the financial struggles, the facility continues to receive “excellent reviews” and “complementary [sic] feedback” from Quality Meat Scotland and Food Standards Scotland audits.
In addition to cutting fees, the abattoir service has received a £15,000 investment from the Shared Prosperity Fund to purchase a new cattle splitter, bandsaw, and vacuum packer to prevent downtime caused by equipment breakdowns.
While the report to councillors acknowledged a potential correlation between rising fees and falling throughput, it pointed to other contributing factors for the decline in animal numbers being booked in.
Among the key factors identified are higher prices for live animals at marts, an overall reduction in livestock numbers, particularly pigs, an increase in home kills, changing consumer trends away from meat, and changing local demographics.
