 Carmello Gale admitted operating an unlawful slaughterhouse |
A farmer given a suspended jail term for running an illegal slaughterhouse to supply meat called 'smokies' has called for the trade to be legalised. Carmello Gale was also told to pay �3,000 costs at Swansea Crown Court.
Gale, 54, of Llandysul, west Wales, had previously pleaded guilty to operating an unlawful slaughterhouse.
Gale had scorched meat from sheep with a blow torch to produce the smokies - in demand from some of the UK's ethnic minority communities.
Gale said after the case that farmers were missing out on lucrative business to the UK's ethnic African population.
The illicit trade in the traditional west African delicacy can see the scorched meat sell at up to 10 times its normal price.
 |  People in this country want to eat the meat that way and they should be allowed  |
The west African delicacy is prepared by burning the flesh of a ewe carcass with a blow torch to give it a golden appearance.
But the production is illegal because it does not comply with an EU fresh meat directive.
Gale was jailed last June for four months after being found guilty of illegally transporting meat for the smokies market.
He also warned the illegal importation of possibly infected smokies risked spreading disease across the UK farming industry.
 Sheep flesh is burned with a blowtorch to produce the 'smokies' |
Gale said: "At the moment you get women travelling to Africa and bringing back smokies in their suitcases. It's a massive business.
"We have got to change the rules for our ethnic population.
"It is legal for us to eat pork with its skin on after all.
"They want the meat with the skin on and there is nothing wrong with that.
"But there are a lot of scare stories circulating.
"In fact there is less bacteria in the skin because of the way it is prepared which is much healthier.
"I understand the ethnic community but many people, and the unions, in the UK have been slow to understand the situation.
'Insatiable demand'
"It is a known fact that there is tons and tons of this meat being smuggled into the UK from abroad through airports.
"But if the rules were changed to allow it you would stop about 80% of the illegal trade overnight."
He added: "People in this country want to eat the meat that way and they should be allowed.
"We have got the product in Wales because we have smaller ewes which replace the traditional goat.
"It is coming in by the ton so they are getting it anyway because of the massive illegal trade."
Previously, Jonathan Austin, prosecuting, had told the court how police and Carmarthenshire Council officers raided Penclawdd Uchaf farm, near Llandysul, and found Gale and three other men along with a number of sheep carcasses.
Gale admitted slaughtering sheep and scorching the flesh with a blow torch to produce smokies.
Mr Austin said there was an "insatiable" demand from some ethnic groups for smokies.
The court was told that the production of the smokies was unhygienic.
Sentencing Gale, Judge Keith Thomas said that as Gale was in a position to sell farm stock to raise money, his fine should be paid off within 12 months.
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