Farmer Focus: Sheep dip disposal plan threatens scab control
Joe Mault © Richard Stanton I am writing this after finishing our first day dipping our breeding ewe flock. I can’t say it is one of my favourite jobs with the sheep, as they know what is coming and don’t flow too well up the ramp into the dipper.
We have our own dipping trailer and dispose of the dip on our land.
See also: Sheep scab scheme cuts disease across 2,000 Welsh farms
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It’s messy work but a complete no-brainer, as we buy a lot of replacement sheep into our flock, and dipping them on arrival is our primary line of defence. It’s the only way we can guarantee we keep a clean flock and stop sheep scab from running through our ewes.
Last year, we had an outbreak of sheep scab after the tups went out. It was a complete nightmare trying to find the right time to dip, balancing animal welfare while not causing the ewes to abort.
However, having the sheep dipping tool in our locker was our absolute saving grace and stopped the disease in its tracks.
That is why I am so frustrated by what Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is trying to do now. Through its recent consultation, it is proposing to rewrite the rules on how we store and dispose of sheep dip, including a plan to completely ban any new permits for safely spreading spent dip on our land.
NFU Cymru has come out against this, calling the move “wrong” and “totally premature”, and I couldn’t agree more.
The sheer lack of common sense is staggering. On one hand, the Welsh government is actively promoting and funding the Gwaredu Scab scheme to wipe out this disease.
On the other, its own environmental body is pushing an agenda that makes dipping nearly impossible for the average farmer. If we can’t safely spread the spent dip on approved, low-risk areas of our own farms like we’ve always done, what are we supposed to do?
Hiring commercial tankers to haul it away for industrial incineration is so expensive and it would make the practice unviable.
Why back a scab eradication scheme while simultaneously stripping away the best weapon we have to fight it? If these rules go through, dipping rates will plummet, and scab will run rampant again.
Welsh ministers need to get a grip on NRW’s conflicting agenda before they destroy both our animal welfare standards and our ability to control sheep scab.