Farmers say the scheme is not practical
|
Farmers in north Wales could resort to abandoning animal carcasses on roadsides when a new European law comes into force, a Tory AM has warned.
From May, it will be illegal to bury animals on farmland.
The aim of the regulations is to improve public health and farm hygiene, but in north Wales, there is only one treatment centre for the region at Wrexham.
But farmers claim the scheme is impractical and that it will mean extra costs for an industry already under pressure.
Under the new rules, stock that dies on the farm will have to be carried to specialist centres to be treated and burned.
The chair of the assembly's agriculture committee, Glyn Davies AM, has warned some farmers may leave carcasses on the side of roads to avoid paying for a company to collect them.
"I am sure most will do the right thing but one or two will dump the dead animals somewhere in the countryside," said Mr Davies, who farms in mid Wales.
It is unreasonable to expect a farmer to spend his working day taking dead animals to centres miles away
|
Hedd Pugh, who farms in the remote valley of Cwm Cywarch near Dinas Mawddwy, Meirionnydd, said he was concerned that no-one seems to know how the system will work.
The north Wales treatment centre at Wrexham - one of only three in Wales - means an hour-and-a-half's return trip for farmers like Mr Pugh.
"We don't know how much this will cost us because the government has said we will have to pay," said Mr Pugh.
"We have buried animals on the mountain for centuries and I cannot for the life of me see why that can't continue.
"How are we going to get sheep down from the high ground? It's not practical," he said.
The two other centres in Wales are located in Lampeter and Cardigan.
Glyn Davies fears farmers will dump carcasses
|
The Welsh Assembly Government has said it will contribute towards the cost of a collection service if the farming industry shares the cost.
Welsh Minister for Rural Development Mike German has said the assembly does not have the power to fund the full cost of the scheme.
Gwynedd Watkin, county executive officer for the Farmers' Union of Wales in north Wales, said: "It is unreasonable to expect a farmer to spend his working day taking dead animals to centres miles away - especially during the lambing season.
"The government is extreme in its approach to this - it is pushing for the whole scheme to be financed by the industry," he added.
Hedd Pugh believes the government should carry the whole cost.
"They are imposing new rules on us all the time. Neither we nor the industry can afford to face any more costs," he said.
The assembly government will continue their negotiations and carry out further consultations with the industry.