TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson is worried about abattoirs

The former Top Gear presenter is the star of the Clarkson's Farm series on Amazon which focuses on his efforts to run Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, near Chipping Norton.

In his latest farming column for The Sunday Times, Mr Clarkson said he was worried as figures show that 10 per cent of small slaughterhouses are closing every year and in a few years' time there could be none at all.

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He said: "Abattoir closures are becoming a big issue everywhere and no one seems to be paying attention.

"Thanks to Brexit, all the migrants who were any good at killing animals are now back in Latvia and it's hard to get local school leavers to work there (or indeed anywhere)."

Mr Clarkson added: "Sure, there are a small number of vegetarians out there, in the same way that there are a small number of Morris dancers.

"But most people love meat, which makes Rishi's important net-zero goal even harder to achieve."

The presenter said if his local abattoir did close it would cause him major problems as "the nearest alternative is beyond the M5, which is basically Wales".

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"It takes nearly an hour to get there," he added.

"And when I arrive with my pigs, I'll be placed in a queue with an increasing number of other small farmers, which means I'll need to set aside a whole day for the job."

Mr Clarkson said one possible solution was developing mobile abattoirs, but current rules and regulations would not allow it.

It comes after it emerged that Mr Clarkson has agreed to sign a lucrative new deal with Amazon for three more series of Clarkson’s Farm.

Nothing is signed yet "however, the expectation is that a deal — likely to be worth at least ­$250m, like the previous one — will be announced when the third series starts streaming in March or April next year," said the Daily Mail.

Friends of the presenter also told the newspaper they would not be surprised if, at 63, he decided to concentrate solely on Clarkson’s Farm rather than continue to film The Grand Tour and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Clarkson's Farm was an instant hit when it first aired in 2021.

The second series, which started streaming in February, was Prime ­Video’s most watched original show in the UK.

In October, Mr Clarkson confirmed that the filming of season three had officially concluded and shared a snap with co-stars Kaleb Cooper, Gerald and Charlie Ireland.

Amazon Prime has not confirmed the exact release date for the third series except to say it will be sometime in 2024.

Sources told the Daily Mail that Amazon "is in active talks with Mr Clarkson over season four of the farming documentary series, which is easily its best-performing UK original". 

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

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