Mobile Butcher Facilities Explained
A Mobile Butcher Facility is different from both a mobile butcher and an abattoir. Understanding that distinction makes Alberta’s processing system much easier to understand.
What is the facility?
A Mobile Butcher Facility Licence allows a Government of Alberta licensed mobile butcher to operate a premise for meat processing.
It can process uninspected meat
An animal slaughtered by a licensed mobile butcher on the owner’s land can be transported to a licensed mobile butcher facility for processing.
Meat from an On-Farm Slaughter Operation may also be processed there.
This meat remains uninspected and must be appropriately identified as uninspected. It cannot be sold, traded, bartered or further distributed.
It can also process inspected meat
A licensed mobile butcher facility may purchase inspected meat and further process it.
Products made only from inspected meat may be sold to the public within Alberta.
The fact that inspected meat is processed at a facility does not change the status of separate uninspected meat handled there.
Labelling matters
Alberta requires uninspected products handled through these facilities to be adequately labelled as uninspected and not for sale.
Inspected products must also be appropriately labelled.
Facility requirements still apply
Licensed Mobile Butcher Facilities must meet applicable requirements under Alberta’s Meat Inspection Act, Meat Inspection Regulation and related standards.
Last reviewed: September 2026.