Industry bodies are working to make the process of moving livestock between Northern Ireland and Great Britain simpler.
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the numbers of cattle and sheep exported from Northern Ireland to Britain decreased sharply in 2021.
Stakeholders, Defra and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) are hoping to find a solution that streamlines live imports and exports of sheep and cattle.
National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker welcomed recent changes, including the Scrapie Qualifying Scheme, which allows flocks to be eligible to trade as soon as they enter the scheme.
He also highlighted the removal of the six month residency period for stock coming and returning to the UK from NI as another positive step.
“Both these are welcome changes, but they still only really allow farm-to-farm trade for sheep and don’t allow farmers to take part in major sales and livestock shows,” Mr Stocker added.
“This is the area that needs to be worked on now – to agree practical solutions to separation in sales yards/ export assembly centres so that farmers can return to trading animals in environments that work for them and drive competitive trade. We also agree with Daera Minister Poots that the tagging requirements are unnecessary and risk undermining traceability.”
LSL News.