Scots call for change in notification rules

Plans have been put forward to allow fallen stock collectors in Scotland to report cattle deaths, which could save farmers hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines.

NFU Scotland has put a proposal to Scottish Government which it says will help livestock producers avoid one of the most common cross-compliance mistakes.

Farmers have a responsibility to report the deaths of all cattle on farm and return any dead animal’s passport to the authorities.

If they fail to do so and are inspected by the authorities it can result in penalties being applied to support payments.

Official farm inspections by Scottish Government staff in 2010 identified a total of 359 cross compliance breaches of which 257 were to do with the identification and registration of cattle, including the non-return of passports and failure to properly report deaths.

NFU Scotland is arguing that fallen stock companies should be allowed to provide a service that would also include formally notifying the authorities of an  animal’s death. 

NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller said: “It is clear from the number of breaches that occur each year that farmers can struggle to keep on top of the necessary paperwork associated with this. 

“Under a formal inspection, not notifying the authorities that cattle have died or failure in returning a cattle passport when the animal has died on farm is a major compliance issue that results in fines worth hundreds of thousands of pounds being imposed on Scottish farming support payments each year.

“This is rarely a deliberate oversight but often simply human error. By allowing third parties to report such deaths, we could cut the number of errors made, reduce Scottish farming’s annual cross-compliance penalty bill and improve the robustness of cattle traceability at the same time.”