Mobile abattoir to return to Dawson City, Yukon

The new managers of a mobile abattoir, or slaughterhouse, in Whitehorse say it'll soon return to Dawson City where it can provide more reliable services to farmers there.

Dawson City resident Adonika Jayne and business partner José Youx subcontracted the government-subsidized abattoir, which was formerly run by Tum Tum's Meats.

Jayne said Dawson City has long sought after self-sufficiency, but the absence of a reliable abattoir has made achieving that extremely difficult. 

"An absolutely essential part of the agricultural chain is that we have an abattoir available in the Dawson area. Otherwise, livestock production is actually not possible on any type of scale," she said. 

Shelby Jordan is co-owner of Bonton and Company, a Dawson City restaurant committed to sourcing local ingredients. She explained that even when the mobile abattoir has come to Dawson in the past, the brevity of its visits has added a considerable amount of pressure to her workload.    

"We were getting our [year's] worth of pork for the restaurant, basically in a week," she explained. "We'd have to then process that – and freeze it – and we also don't have a significant amount of freezer space, nor does the community as a whole." 

Megan Waterman, owner of Lastraw Ranch in Dawson City, raises livestock, pork and poultry. She said her lack of confidence in the availability of the abattoir's services caused her to refrain from growing any pork last year. 

"Right now, we don't have butchering service in the community. Without the abattoir security – knowing that it will come – it's just too much for … the idea of producing," she said. 

Waterman said in the past, she has had to outsource in order to keep up with her farm's production, which meant transporting livestock to Whitehorse for slaughter. She said this type of transport can add even more complications for meat producers. 

Jordan, a butcher herself, explained stress hormones release certain enzymes in the body. 

"It's a long, bumpy highway, and so the animals are already going through stress, and by the time the slaughter happens, that stress does affect the quality of the meat," she said. "Not having to transport live animals down that highway… It's a big deal."  

For Jayne, meat quality is only part of the equation. 

"That [meat quality] isn't even as important to me as… a concern for these animals that are giving themselves to us for food. And I don't take that lightly – that we're taking an animal's life in order to sustain ours," she said. 

A broader impact

Jordan said she is certain Bonton & Co's supplier list will expand as a result of the abattoir's presence in Dawson. She said the return of the abattoir to Dawson will also give the community a chance to become more self-sufficient. 

"In terms of the commercial sales … it's part of the local food network and economy, and we're not just helping our farmers, but our farmers are helping us," Jordan said.

"So it will not just help our business, but it's going to help the community as a whole." 

Waterman said the presence of an abattoir will also mean increased business opportunities for local producers. 

"Having the abattoir in your community means that you can grow your meat, have it slaughtered at an inspected facility, and then from the inspected facility, you can sell your meat to another retailer, like a restaurant or a grocery store, so it allows for a broader market," she said. 

Waterman said she thinks the abattoir's presence could help jumpstart industry for the entire region. 

"This is kind of a foundation that we can now build on … and we will have our turn – to develop agriculture in the north Yukon."