The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has revealed it will be engaging with abattoir owners to help ease the shortage of veterinarians.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council has approved proposals from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to allow temporary veterinary registrants to undertake Official Veterinarian (OV) work at slaughterhouses.

Farmers dressed in pig costumes have protested outside the Conservative Party conference amid warnings that more than 100,000 pigs could be culled.