Control eased in Republic
Control eased in Republic
FARM-to-farm movement of cattle returned to the Republic of Ireland this week, though farmers have been unhappy with its operation.
In the interests of minimising the foot-and-mouth risk, Irish minister of agriculture, Joe Walsh has insisted on continued tight controls.
"It is most important that those involved in cattle movements adhere to these measures, which are ultimately designed to protect their livelihoods," he said.
In particular, vendors must restrict the number of potential purchasers visiting their holdings, making full use of videos, photos and the Internet to conduct business. The cattle must have been resident for at least 30 days prior to sale and must go direct from farm-to-farm with no stops.
Even though the resumption of farm-to-farm movement has provided cattle breeders with their first income after a 10-week suspension, the mechanics involved have been criticised.
"The requirement that any farmer who purchases an animal is prevented from selling any animal from his holding for 20 days is excluding many farmers from trading," said Irish Farmers Association president, Tom Parlon.
Live auction marts should also be involved in the process, he suggested, to improve price transparency and to help manage the paperwork.
Currently, all applications have to be made by post to a single office at Bandon, Co Cork. It takes three days to get permits back to farmers. *
The IFA estimates there are over 600,000 cattle backed up on farms in Ireland, and is demanding a resumption of live exports to Italy and Spain. Key markets in Egypt and Russia remain closed to Irish beef, due to fears of BSE and F&M respectively. *