# Knacker

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Person who removes animal carcasses

This article is about the trade and slang term. For the Canadian band, see [Knacker (band)](/source/Knacker_(band)).

"A Dead Horse on a Knacker's Cart", drawing by [Thomas Rowlandson](/source/Thomas_Rowlandson) (1757–1827).

A group of dead [pigs](/source/Pigs) awaiting pickup by a local knackery, dumped at the edge of a farm site in [Scotland](/source/Scotland); [pig farmers](/source/Pig_farming) in particular prefer the knackery truck not to come close to where live pigs are kept as this is a way that disease can be spread.

Smoke discharging from incinerators at Douglasbrae Knackery, Scotland. The business deals with the disposal of animal carcasses from all over the north-east of Scotland.

Look up ***[knacker](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knacker)*** or ***[knackered](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knackered)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A **knacker** ([/ˈnækər/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)), **knackerman** or **knacker man** is a person who removes and clears animal carcasses (dead, dying, injured) from private [farms](/source/Farms) or public [highways](/source/Highways) and [renders](/source/Rendering_(animal_products)) the collected carcasses into [by-products](/source/By-products) such as [fats](/source/Fat), [tallow](/source/Tallow) ([yellow grease](/source/Yellow_grease_(tallow))), [glue](/source/Animal_glue), [gelatin](/source/Gelatin), [bone meal](/source/Bone_meal), [bone char](/source/Bone_char), [sal ammoniac](/source/Sal_ammoniac),[1] [soap](/source/Soap), [bleach](/source/Bleach) and [animal feed](/source/Meat_and_bone_meal). A knacker's yard or a knackery is different from a [slaughterhouse](/source/Slaughterhouse) or abattoir, where animals are slaughtered for human consumption. Since the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages), the occupation of "knacker man" was frequently considered a disreputable occupation. Knackers were often also commissioned by the courts as public [executioners](/source/Executioner).[2]

## Etymology

The oldest recorded use of the word "knacker" dates to 1812, meaning "one who slaughters old or sick horses" and in 1855 "to kill, castrate", and is believed to be the same word as the earlier knacker/nacker "harness-maker" from the 1570s, surviving in 18th century dialects.[3] The sense extension is perhaps because "knackers" provided farmers with general help in horse matters, including the disposal of dead horses and animals. The word is of uncertain origin, perhaps from the Scandinavian word represented by Old Norse *hnakkur*, saddle, and related to *hnakki*, "back of the neck", possibly relating to neck.[3]

## Legal definitions

The term is in this literal sense in [British English](/source/British_English) and [Irish English](/source/Irish_English),[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] and gained some notoriety during the outbreak of [mad cow disease](/source/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy) (BSE) in the United Kingdom.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The *Slaughterhouses Act* 1974, the *Meat (Sterilisation and Staining) Regulations* 1982, and the *Food Safety Act* 1990 all define a "knacker's yard" as "any premises used in connection with the business of [slaughtering](/source/Animal_slaughter), [skinning](/source/Skinning) or [cutting up animals](/source/Butcher) whose flesh is not intended for human consumption".[4][*[non-primary source needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research#Primary,_secondary_and_tertiary_sources)*]

Knackery by-products are rendered under regulation into fats and meat and bone meal for incineration. Cattle hides may be recovered for leather production.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The kinds of animal processing which can occur at knackeries are defined by law, for example, in Australia by the Commonwealth *Meat Inspection Act* 1983.[5] In the EU, the legislation covering knackeries is Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of 21 October 2009. It regulates animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption.[6]

## Slang use

"Knackered" meaning tired, exhausted or broken in British and Irish slang is commonly used in Australia, Ireland, [Newfoundland](/source/Newfoundland_and_Labrador), [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand), and the United Kingdom.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

The word has also been used as a derogatory term against members of the [Travelling Community](/source/Irish_Travellers) in Ireland. There have been some calls to cease the use of slang terms like "knacker drinking" and "knackered" as a result.[7][8] In Ireland, "knacker drinking" refers to the practice of consuming [alcohol](/source/Alcohol_(drug)) in the open, e.g. in a field or a park, or by a roadside or canal; the drink is typically cheap [cider](/source/Cider), [beer](/source/Beer) or [vodka](/source/Vodka) from an [off licence](/source/Off_licence). "Knacker drinking" is commonly done by teenagers or students.[9][10]

The British satirical magazine *[Private Eye](/source/Private_Eye_(magazine))* often refers to senior police figures as "[Inspector Knacker](/source/Recurring_in-jokes_in_Private_Eye#Inspector_Knacker)" or the police force in general as "Knacker of [the Yard](/source/Scotland_Yard)", a reference to [Jack "Slipper of the Yard" Slipper](/source/Jack_Slipper).[11][12]

[Automotive junkyards](/source/Wrecking_yard), salvage yards or recyclers may also be referred to as "knackers' yards" or "knackers". "Knackers" is also a British/Australasian vulgar slang for [testicles](/source/Testicles).[13][*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-USPRB_1-0)** Chemist, Practical (1844). "Animal Gas, or the Value of Dead Animals". [*The United States Practical Receipt Book: Or, Complete Book of Reference, for the Manufacturer, Tradesman, Agriculturist Or Housekeeper; Containing Many Thousand Valuable Receipts, in All the Useful and Domestic Arts*](https://archive.org/details/unitedstatespra00chemgoog). Philadelphia: Linsey & Blakiston. p. [320](https://archive.org/details/unitedstatespra00chemgoog/page/n325).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-TFTGU_2-0)** Evans, Richard (1998). [*Tales from the German Underworld: Crime and Punishment in the Nineteenth Century*](https://books.google.com/books?id=tYQB6PItGQ0C). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 145. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780300072242](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780300072242).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-OED_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-OED_3-1) ["Knacker"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/knacker). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 9 July 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Food Act 1984](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/30), Government of the United Kingdom

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["*Meat Inspection Act* 1983 (Cth)"](http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/mia1983170/index.htm).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Official Journal if the European Union – Regulations](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:300:0001:0033:EN:PDF)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Russell, Cliodhna (12 October 2016). ["'The word knacker makes me feel nervous and ashamed'"](https://www.thejournal.ie/john-connors-knacker-nervous-ashamed-3018545-Oct2016/). *TheJournal.ie*. Retrieved 29 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Duran, Anagricel (20 June 2023). ["Dermot Kennedy apologises after using Traveller community racial slur"](https://www.nme.com/news/music/dermot-kennedy-apologises-after-using-traveller-community-racial-slur-3458424). *NME*. Retrieved 3 July 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Boyzone hit in row over 'knacker drinking'"](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/boyzone-hit-in-row-over-knacker-drinking-26156389.html). *independent*. 13 March 1999.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Knacker Drinking – Main page"](http://www.thegrovesocialclub.com/drinking/maindrinking.htm). *www.thegrovesocialclub.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Thompson, Harry (2011). [*Biography Of Peter Cook*](https://books.google.com/books?id=RMd6JHis3REC&q=%22Inspector+Knacker%22&pg=PT295). Hodder & Stoughton. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781444717839](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781444717839) – via Google Books.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Private Eye"](https://books.google.com/books?id=MK5nAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Inspector+Knacker%22). Pressdram. 14 January 1983 – via Google Books.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** e.g. Thomas in *[The Virgin Soldiers](/source/The_Virgin_Soldiers)*

v t e Ethnic slurs by ethnicity Africans Abeed Black Diamond Boerehaat Choc ice Cushi Golliwog Hottentot Kaffir Wog Europeans General Ang mo Angry white male Bule Cracker Farang Gammon Guiri Guizi Gweilo Honky Mat Salleh Redleg Trixie Wasi'chu White monkey White nigger Whitey Wigger Wog Albanians Šiptar Turco-Albanian British Anglo-Saxons Limey Pom Scots Teuchter (Scottish Highlanders) Welsh Crachach (Welsh-speaking elite) Dic Siôn Dafydd (Anglophile Welsh) Sheep shagger Taffy Dutch Cheesehead Finns Chukhna French Cheese-eating surrender monkeys Gabacho Germans Hun Kraut Greeks Grecomans Irish Fenian (Republicans) Knacker (Irish Travellers) Pikey (Irish Travellers) Shoneen (Anglophile Irish) Taig (Irish Catholics) West Brit (Anglophile Irish) Italians Goombah Guido Polentone (Northern Italians) Terrone (South Italians) Wop Wog Poles Polack Russians Moskal Orc Tibla Serbs Shkije Serbomans Spaniards Gachupín Polaco (Catalans) Quinqui (Mercheros) Xarnego Ukrainians Khokhol Ukrop Others Bulgarophiles (Macedonians and Serbs) Hunky (eastern and central europeans) Yestonians (Russified Estonians) Asians East Asians General Banana (westernized East Asians) Gook Sangokujin (Korean and Taiwanese) Toku-A (Chinese and Korean) Twinkie (westernized East Asians) Chinese Ah Beng Chankoro Chinaman Ching chong Chink Chinky Coolie Jook-sing (overseas / westernized Chinese) Locust Shina Toku-A Zhing-zhong Japanese Jap Jjokbari Nip Xiao Riben Koreans Ban-jjokbari (Japan-affiliated Korean people) Gaoli bangzi Sangokujin (also Chinese) Toku-A Taiwanese Sangokujin Tai Ke (Benshengren) South Asians General American-Born Confused Desi (ABCD) Coconut (westernized South Asians) Coolie Wog Bengalis Bong Bongal Danchi babu Dkhar Kalar Malaun Mayang Indians Chinki (Northeast Indians) Coolie Keling (Maritime Southeast Asian-origin Indians) Pajeet Pakistanis Paki Southeast Asians Filipinos Vietnamese Eurasians Arabs Pallywood (Palestinians) Rafida (Shi'ites) Raghead Wog Jews Christ killer Jewish-American princess (JAP) Kafir Khazar (Ashkenazi Jews) Kike Marrano (Conversos / Crypto-Jews) Rootless cosmopolitan Wog Yekke (German Jews) Yid Zhyd / Zhydovka Żydokomuna Turks Kebab Mongol Kanake Romani, Dom, and Lom Didicoy Gypsies (sometimes used against other semi-nomadic groups) Nawar Zott Oceanians Anglo-Saxons (English Australians/New Zealanders) Blackfella (Indigenous Australians) Hori (Māori) Kanaka (Pacific Islander) Coconut (Pacific Islander) North and South Americans Indigenous Eskimo (Inuit / Yupik / Unangan), Indian/Injun (Native American / First Nations / American Indian) Redskin/Red Indian (Native American / First Nations) Squaw (Native American women) Blacks Alligator bait Black American princess Black Buck Cocolo Colored House Negro Jim Crow Macaca Mammy Mulatto Negro Nigger (Nigga) Pickaninny Rastus Queen / Queenie Sambo Schvartze Tar-Baby Uncle Tom Wog Whites Anglo-Saxons (Anglo-Americans) Angry white male Becky Buckra Conch (Bahamians of European descent) Coonass (Cajuns) Cracker Gringo Gweilo Haole Hillbilly / Hilljack Honky Karen Peckerwood Poor White Redleg Redneck Swamp Yankee Trailer trash Trixie Wasi'chu White monkey White nigger White trash Whitey Whitexican Wigger Others Beaner (Mexicans) Canuck (Canadians) Chirigüillo Cholo (Mestizos) Coonass (Cajuns) Greaser Gusano (Cubans) Half-breed Naco Newfie (Newfoundlander) Okie (Oklahomans) Pindos (Americans) Pocho (Mexican Americans) Roto (Chileans) Spic Ugly American (Americans) Veneco (Venezuelans) Wetback Yank / Yankee (Americans) Outsiders Ajam (non-Arabs) Barbarian Fresh off the boat / F.O.B. (immigrant) Gadjo (non-Romani) Gaijin (non-Japanese) Goy (non-Jew) Gringo (non-Latin Americans) Guizi (non-Chinese) Kafir (non-believer) (pl. Kuffar) Reffo / Balt (Non-Anglo immigrant to Australia) Savage (usually Indigenous, regarded as primitive/uncivilized) Shegetz (non-Jewish boy or man) (pl. Shkutzim) Shiksa (non-Jewish woman)

Authority control databases GND

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Knacker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knacker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knacker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.