Union supports carcass plan

Union supports carcass plan

Farmer Steve Bucknell says he is concerned about carcass collection

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is urging farmers to sign up to a government collection scheme for dead animals.

The scheme has been proposed ahead of European legislation banning the burying of carcasses on farmland.

Under the EU Animal By-products Regulation, from 1 May stock that dies on a farm will have to be taken to specialist centres to be disposed of.

The government is setting up a new subscription scheme to pick up dead animals from farms. However, farmers want assurances that carcasses will be collected quickly.

We don't know that the carcass will be collected that day or the following day

Steve Bucknell,
farmer

The National Fallen Stock scheme, as it is to be known, will cost the average farmer about £100 a year.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs needs at least 50% of farmers in the UK supporting the scheme to get it off the ground.

However, some farmers want assurances that if they sign up, animals will not be left for days before collection.

Farmer Steve Bucknell said: "I'm very concerned at putting a dead cow or any carcass out there, especially during summer months.

"It is going to smell a bit, flies are going to get on it and we don't know the carcass will be collected that day or the following day.

"It's not very health conscious of the government to think this way. It'd be easier to have a burial pit and carcasses disposed of six foot down. End of story."

Best scheme

The NFU has said it believes the scheme is not best the way to deal with dead animals but that it is the best deal it can do.

NFU South West Regional Director Anthony Gibson said: "The ideal solution would have been to maintain the status quo, to bury stock because it's the most sustainable and environmentally-friendly and cheapest way of doing it.

"But that is not an option because of Brussels. I think the scheme is the best under the circumstances.

"And talking to knackers, we've agreed that an absolute maximum for collection should be 24 hours. I think in most cases it should be much less than that."