Renowned craftsman David Broadbent hopes to end his show career on a high at Llanelwedd

A RENOWNED stickmaker from the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides is preparing to make one final journey to the Royal Welsh Show later this month, as he competes in what he expects to be his last season on the agricultural show circuit.

David Broadbent, known as The Harris Stickmaker, has spent almost half a century perfecting the traditional rural craft, winning numerous championship titles and awards at agricultural shows across the UK.

Originally from Halifax in West Yorkshire, David moved to the Isle of Harris in 1972 while working as a carpenter. It was there that he met his wife. After several years living on the mainland, the couple eventually returned to the family croft where she was born.

His passion for stickmaking began in 1976, when he bought a handcrafted stick from a local crofter for £5. Captivated by its decorative handle, he decided to try making one himself.

Nearly 50 years later, David is regarded as one of the UK’s most respected stickmakers.

His success has also brought him into contact with members of the Royal family. During celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Harris Tweed Orb trademark, he presented the then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, now King Charles III and Queen Camilla, with handcrafted walking sticks. He has also met The Princess Royal through the International Sheep Dog Trials.

David’s distinctive sticks are made from materials including ram’s horn, Highland cow horn and buffalo horn, combined with native woods such as hazel, blackthorn and cherry. Each piece is individually shaped and finished by hand.

For many years, David had dreamed of competing at the Royal Welsh Show, but felt the 600-mile journey from the Hebrides was simply too far. That changed when his granddaughter became engaged to a hill farmer near Oswestry, giving him a base from which to travel to Mid Wales.

He finally fulfilled his long-held ambition by competing at the Royal Welsh in 2023.

Now 74 and facing deteriorating health, David has decided that 2026 will likely be his final year in competition. He is entering the Royal Welsh, the Royal Highland and the Great Yorkshire, which he describes as the three top shows in the country.

David is also keen to pass the craft on to the next generation. He teaches youngsters on the island, as well as his granddaughter when she visits.

In recent years, much of his stickmaking has focused on charity work, with sticks donated to fundraising auctions in support of Prostate Cancer UK and the British Heart Foundation.

Among the classes David will enter at this year’s Royal Welsh Show is the unique Lady’s and Gentleman’s class, which requires competitors to produce a matching pair of intricately crafted sticks.

For the class, David has created a pair from Shetland sheep horns, decorated in striking black and gold.

He said: “Stickmaking is not an easy craft to take on and the judging can be extra critical. However, it is a true passion of mine and something I find incredibly satisfying.

“I can whittle away the hours in my shed, surrounded by vices, presses and a clutter of tools, and it brings me immense joy.

“I’ve been making sticks for nearly 50 years and I’ve met wonderful people through the craft. I want to go out with a bang and, if I could finish by winning at the Royal Welsh, that would be something very special.”

The stickmaking competition remains a popular feature of the Royal Welsh Show, attracting skilled craftsmen from across the UK and helping to preserve a traditional rural craft.

The classes will be judged on the opening day of this year’s show, which takes place from July 20 to 23 at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells.

Picture caption: The Harris Stickmaker, David Broadbent.

Official data shows major and critical non-compliances at Welsh meat plants, as Animal Aid claims the figures expose serious welfare and hygiene concerns

A PEMBROKESHIRE slaughterhouse was given the Food Standards Agency’s most serious audit rating after inspectors recorded major and critical non-compliances, official data shows.

The latest FSA meat establishment audit data, published as of July 1, 2026, lists Euro Farm Wales, Haverfordwest, as requiring “urgent improvement necessary”.

The audit data records 16 minor, four major and five critical non-compliances at the site.

Critical non-compliances are the most serious category used in FSA audits and can involve immediate risks to animal welfare, public health or hygienic production.

The figures come after animal rights group Animal Aid analysed FSA slaughterhouse audit records and claimed that almost every operational UK slaughterhouse had recorded at least one non-compliance.

Animal Aid said its analysis of June 2026 data found 3,716 failures across 246 operational UK slaughterhouses, with only one site having a completely clean record. It said more than 40 per cent of sites had at least one major non-compliance.

The group said the figures challenged claims that the UK meat industry operates to consistently high welfare standards.

Alex Harman, Campaign Manager at Animal Aid, said: “The British public has been fed a marketing myth that UK slaughterhouses are gold standard of animal welfare. This data proves that ‘humane slaughter’ is a bureaucratic lie.

“When the government’s highest rating allows for hundreds of systemic violations, and high-risk facilities are left to operate in the dark without required audits, the system isn’t just failing, it is working exactly as intended to keep the assembly line of death moving at all costs.”

Animal Aid said the answer was not simply tougher rules, but a move away from animal agriculture and towards plant-based food systems.

The FSA data also lists other Pembrokeshire-linked slaughterhouses with recorded non-compliances.

Capestone Organic Poultry Ltd, Haverfordwest, is listed as “generally satisfactory”, with 15 minor and two major non-compliances.

Lloyd West Ltd, Pembrokeshire, is also listed as “generally satisfactory”, with 14 minor and one major non-compliance.

Across Wales, the July dataset lists 18 slaughterhouses with 261 total non-compliances, including 26 major and five critical non-compliances.

The FSA audit system covers approved meat establishments, including slaughterhouses, cutting plants and game handling establishments. Audits examine areas including hygiene, animal welfare, food safety systems, maintenance, cleaning, handling, traceability and the management of animal by-products.

The agency grades audit outcomes using categories including “good”, “generally satisfactory”, “improvement necessary” and “urgent improvement necessary”.

Animal Aid said one of the concerns raised by the data was that sites could still receive positive or mid-level ratings despite recording numerous non-compliances.

The campaign group pointed to examples elsewhere in the UK where slaughterhouses were rated “good” or “generally satisfactory” despite having multiple recorded failures.

However, the FSA has previously said overall animal welfare compliance in abattoirs is very high. In a June 2026 Food Standards Agency blog post, the agency said there were 542 animal welfare breaches in abattoirs in England and Wales during 2025/26, affecting 33,679 animals out of more than one billion animals processed.

The agency said this meant 0.0032 per cent of animals were affected.

Animal Aid argues that the audit data still shows systemic problems, particularly because breaches were recorded at sites subject to official checks, veterinary oversight and CCTV requirements.

David Magna, a former slaughterhouse inspector quoted by Animal Aid, said: “After years working as a slaughterhouse inspector, I came to understand that the failures I witnessed were not isolated incidents, they were the predictable consequences. Success is measured by production.”

The FSA dataset does not, in its headline table, provide detailed narrative descriptions of each individual non-compliance at each site.

Further clarification would be needed from the FSA and the operators involved to establish the exact nature of the major and critical findings, whether enforcement action followed, and whether the issues have since been addressed.

THE BADGER TRUST has called on the new Welsh Government to publish the scientific evidence behind any move towards wildlife controls as part of Wales’ bovine TB strategy.

The charity says ministers have repeatedly promised to “follow the science” while also leaving open the possibility of future interventions involving wildlife, including badgers.

The row follows recent Senedd exchanges in which Cabinet Minister Llyr Gruffydd said the Government was committed to a “holistic approach” to eradicating bovine TB in Wales, based on science and evidence, and informed by the Technical Advisory Group and the TB Programme Board.

Ministers have not announced a badger cull. However, the issue has become politically sensitive after Plaid Cymru’s manifesto pledged a new approach to bTB which recognises wildlife as a source of infection and enables “scientifically validated control methods”.

Badger Trust says that wording raises questions about whether the new administration is preparing to move away from Wales’ previous policy, which focused mainly on cattle measures, biosecurity, testing and vaccination rather than widespread badger culling.

The charity argues that Wales has already made progress without adopting the large-scale culling programmes seen in England.

Official figures published by the Welsh Government show there were 479 new TB herd incidents in Wales in the 12 months to March 2026, down 23.1% from 623 in the previous 12 months. The number of animals slaughtered for TB control in Wales also fell by 21.1%, from 13,171 to 10,395.

However, the Welsh Government has also acknowledged that the number of cattle slaughtered remains high and that there is “still a long way to go”. A written statement earlier this year said some slaughter figures reflect the use of more sensitive testing aimed at finding infection earlier and reducing the risk of future spread.

Nigel Palmer, chief executive of Badger Trust, said: “Ministers are saying they will follow the science repeatedly to the Senedd. That is welcome.

“But if they are considering a major policy change, the public has a right to know what evidence is driving that discussion.

“The evidence does not demonstrate that badger culling provides a meaningful solution to bovine TB in cattle or would improve on the progress already being made in Wales.

“We understand the devastating impact bovine TB can have on farming families and rural communities. That is why farmers deserve effective solutions based on evidence, not assumptions.

“That means continued investment in cattle measures, including on-farm and off-farm biosecurity, improved testing and vaccination. Farmers and wildlife can be protected by following the evidence.”

The charity also pointed to polling by RSPCA Cymru which, it says, found only 27% of respondents supported badger culling, while 46% opposed it. It said 63% of respondents were uncomfortable with killing badgers and 68% opposed public money being spent on culling programmes.

The debate has intensified since a Senedd exchange on June 10, when Labour MS Vikki Howells asked whether ministers would consider all the science, including evidence which she said showed culling badgers was not the answer.

Responding, Mr Gruffydd said the issue needed to be approached “in an objective manner with a clear head” and said any decision would be based on science, the evidence base, and advice from the Technical Advisory Group, which is looking at TB and wildlife.

Earlier in the same session, Mr Gruffydd said he had already met the TB Programme Board and the Technical Advisory Group, and said a position paper published in March made clear that TB needed to be tackled across livestock, wildlife and other sources of infection.

Farming unions and rural representatives have argued that the current approach has not gone far enough. NFU Cymru backed calls earlier this year for a “step change” in Wales’ bTB eradication strategy, saying the current trajectory was not sufficient to meet the target of Wales becoming officially TB free by 2041.

NFU Cymru president Abi Reader said at the time that while it was encouraging to see new breakdowns falling, the impact on farms under TB restrictions and the number of animals slaughtered could not be ignored.

The Welsh Government has also recently tightened cattle movement rules. From January 2026, cattle in Wales that previously tested as standard interpretation inconclusive reactors and later tested negative at re-test remain restricted to their holding for life. The Welsh Government said scientific evidence showed such animals were three times more likely to become TB reactors than clear-tested cattle.

In the Senedd, ministers have highlighted the Pembrokeshire TB project as a possible model for future work. Mr Gruffydd said he had visited the project and was “inspired” by its local, industry-led approach, involving farmers and vets working together on area-specific responses.

Badger Trust said it accepted the seriousness of bTB for farmers but said any change in policy involving wildlife must be justified by clear evidence.

Mr Palmer added: “Wales has already proved that progress against bovine TB is possible without widespread badger culling.

“If ministers are considering a different approach, they should share and explain the scientific evidence they have to support a change in policy direction.”

The Welsh Government has been asked to comment.