Words by

Reetta Huhta

Photo by

John Pearson

Slaughter season has started at Sláturfélag Suðurlands (SS) in Selfoss. Approximately 104,000 sheep will be slaughtered during the upcoming weeks, reports Vísir.

Farmers from the south of Iceland will now deliver their sheep to the slaughterhouse, where several thousands of lambs will meet their end daily. Benedikt Benediktsson, the production manager of SS says that this slaughter season seems to be a good one, even though they’ve faced some struggles hiring people. “There are a lot of possibilities to work in the tourism industry and that’s why it’s hard to get people to work here in the countryside”, he comments.

During the slaughter season, it is extremely important to obey the disease control regulations. According to Benedikt, they are following very strict rules considering disease control. “The slaughterhouse is closed to all outsiders, and of course we’re taking care of all the infection control”, he says.

A lot of life in the house during slaughter season

Benedikt says that they are excited for the slaughter season to start, since it brings a lot of life to the company. “Many wonderful people come to work for us, and they always bring good vibes to the place. There’s always a lot of life here during this season”, he says.

Grapevine isn’t sure if Benedikt was including the lives of the soon to be slaughtered sheep in his statement when referring to the liveliness of the slaughter season.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.