ABATTOIRS at the heart of South Lakeland's agricultural economy have been given a stay of execution as the Government delays implementing new European rules which could spell disaster for many business.

A Europe-wide ban on the practice of 'pithing' was due to come into force on January 1, 2001, but the newly-formed Food Standards Agency has postponed it because of fears that abattoirs have not had enough time to prepare.

Pithing takes place after stunning and before the animal is killed; it immobilises the beast and helps protect abattoir workers from the danger of flailing limbs.

But the process involves pushing a rod into the animal's nervous system via the cranial cavity and the EU wants it banned because of a theoretical risk that the pithing could lead to contamination of food destined for the human food chain with BSE.

Paul Airey, manager of the medium-sized Winders abattoir in Ulverston, said that pithing ban, when it finally came, could spell disaster for some in the industry.

He said pithing was vital for the protection of workers and if a satisfactory alternative could not be found, some abattoirs would be left facing the prospect of closure because of increased costs and safety worries.

He explained that Winders in Ulverston had already spent around £1,000 installing an electrical alternative to pithing because of Government advice that a Europe-wide ban would begin on January 1.

But he said that the system was not tried and tested and it was too soon to tell if it would protect workers properly and not hamper production.

John Chadwick, chairman of the Small Abattoirs Federation, said the measure could lead to the closure of two-thirds of all abattoirs.

He said that small and medium abattoirs, which play an important role in helping farmers add value to their produce by supplying premium quality, locally produced meat, would be hit the hardest.

Richard Billinge, spokesman for the Food Standards Agency, said the Government had delayed the start of the ban to give abattoirs time to prepare for it.

He said the Agency would be writing to abattoirs in the next few weeks to tell them when the ban would begin, but said he thought it was likely to be a matter of weeks rather than months and said he thought there was little prospect of the EU repealing the ban in spite of the paucity of scientific evidence that pithing created a significant risk of transmitting CJD to humans.

l News of the pithing ban comes on the heels of the Government's much heralded Rural White Paper, which pledged £8.7 million to keep down Meat Hygiene Service costs to small abattoirs.

Now many in the industry believe that the ban will overwhelm the good news for the industry in the rural white paper.

Richard Burge, chief Countryside Alliance, said: "The FSA is asking small abattoirs to prepare for the implementation of a law which could mean buying expensive new equipment for handling livestock - this is the same as asking a small business to make their own funeral arrangements.

It is almost certain that no lives will be saved from CJD, but people will undoubtedly lose their livelihoods and the quality of the food will diminish."