The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has welcomed the section of the draft Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Act which will provide police forces in England and Wales with greater powers to tackle livestock worrying.

The FUW has lobbied for changes in legislation through its ‘Your Dog, Your Responsibility’ campaign in 2019 and ‘Livestock Worrying - Do you know your rights?’ webinar more recently where PC Dave Allen explained the work of the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC).

A report published by the NPCC group in 2018 identified that from September 2013 to 2017, there were a total of 1705 recorded cases of livestock worrying where 1928 animals were killed, and 1614 injured, at an estimated cost of £250,000 in the police force areas of North Yorkshire, Devon, Cornwall, Sussex and North Wales. Sections 26 to 41 of the Act are based on the findings and recommendations of the NPCC group report.

For livestock keepers, more animals will be covered by the Act including Alpacas and game birds, the definition of Agricultural Land will include, for example, roads that livestock are moved along, and the list of relevant livestock will be able to be amended by the Secretary of State for England and the Rural Affairs Minister for Wales to reflect future farming needs without the need to change primary legislation.

British food exports to the EU fell by £2 billion in the first quarter of 2021 according to the latest HMRC figures, due to additional non-tariff barriers following the end of the Brexit transition period, coronavirus impacts and stockpiling.

The Food and Drink Federation has warned that the problem is inherent to the new trading barriers rather than being the symptom of teething problems, describing the £2 billion fall as “disastrous” for the industry.

Compared with 2020, dairy product exports fell by more than 90%, cheese exports fell by two-thirds, and lamb and mutton exports fell by 14%.

Another UK beef processing site approved for exports to US

The Foyle Food Group based in Gloucester is the fourth UK beef processing site to be approved for commercial exports to the United States under the ‘USDA Approved’ list.

The UK was granted access to the US market in 2020 for the first time since the ban on UK and EU beef due to the BSE outbreak in 1996. The UK has exported more than £3 million worth of beef to the US since late last year as consumers seek for more premium products.

Restoring bog land by removing trees

The Marches Mosses Bog LIFE Project aims to restore lowland raised bog areas within the Fenn’s, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses and Wem Moss National Nature Reserves near Whitchurch and Wrexham over the next five years.

Led by Natural England in partnership with Natural Resources Wales and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, and with a multi-million pound grant from the EU LIFE scheme, the project aims to protect such habits through the removal of trees.

Each acre of bog at Fenn’s and Whixall Mosses contains 15 times the amount of carbon than the equivalent area of mature woodland.

UK secures new Japanese market for poultry meat

The UK has secured new market access in Japan for fresh and cooked poultry products, estimated to be worth £13 million to the industry every year.

The opening of this market demonstrates the UK’s world-leading production standards and is hoped to become a more significant export destination as poultry consumption in Japan increases.

It has been announced that a number of the exemptions which were put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic will be coming to an end over the coming months.

From 1st July 2021, a pregnancy diagnosis certificate, issued within the previous 90 days, will need to be provided for any in calf animals at the time of the valuation.

Any TB skin tests which go overdue from 1 July 2021 will be referred by APHA to RPW and may lead to cross compliance penalties. Referrals will not take place if APHA have been notified in advance of extenuating circumstances that will prevent the test being completed on time.

From 1st August 2021, the exemption allowing calves under 180 days not to be tested during certain routine and targeted TB skin tests in officially TB free herds will be removed.

Further information can be found on the TB Hub website: https://tbhub.co.uk/statutory-tb-testing-of-cattle-in-gb-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/