The meat processing industry requires large quantities of water, much of which is discharged as wastewater containing high levels of COD and nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Over the past two decades, biological COD and N removal from abattoir wastewater has received much greater attention than has the biological P removal. Reliable biological COD and nitrogen removal systems have been successfully designed for abattoir wastewater treatment. However, P removal continues to be achieved primarily through chemical precipitation, which incurs high costs for chemicals and for the handling and disposal of the chemical sludge produced. Biological P removal is potentially a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable option.