Suffolk Trading Standards play a key role to promote and
maintain standards of animal health and welfare in Suffolk by
enforcing over 150 pieces of legislation concerning animal welfare
and disease control.
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Looking after the welfare of farmed animals and preventing the
spread of animal diseases.
The main aims of this legislation are:
- To prevent and control Livestock disease outbreaks
- To protect the welfare of animals at agricultural holdings, in
transit and at animal gatherings
- To safeguard human health and the food chain from contagious
diseases
Suffolk Trading Standards works with the local livestock
industry and government agencies such as Animal Health to ensure
that farmed animals are disease-free and well looked after.
Our work includes:
- Visiting keepers of livestock to ensure they comply with
disease control and welfare rules
- Checking and recording sheep, goat and pig movements
- Checks on vehicles transporting animals
- Attendance at animal gatherings
- Investigating allegations of livestock welfare abuse
- Investigating breaches of animal by products disposal
rules
Livestock Premises Assessment Guide
To help keepers understand the main requirements that apply to
keeping and moving livestock above is a link to our
Livestock Premises Assessment Guide (445k) that summarises the
main rules. This guide can be used to conduct a form of self
assessment or just to help you understand the main rules that we
enforce.
Sheep, Goat and Pig Movement Book Postal Check Scheme
On a routine basis we visit farms to check such things as
movement records. However to stop unnecessary visits and to lessen
their impact on keepers time, Suffolk has developed a system to
check sheep, goat and pig movement records within Suffolk by post.
Participants receive a new book that ensures compliance with all of
the current on-farm record requirements for live and dead-stock
movements.
For further information, download the
application pack (Word, 36kb)
If you do wish to participate in the scheme but require guidance
on livestock movements and copies of non postal movement books for
sheep, goats, pigs and cattle please see the
Defra website
If you require specific guidance on any animal welfare
related issue please click of the relevant link as detailed
below.
Livestock
(including horses) movement and identification
In the
event of a disease outbreak the precise location of all livestock
is essential to control and eradicate highly contagious viruses. To
try and stop the spread of disease and to be able trace meat
products there are strict rules controlling the identification and
movement of livestock. These rules apply to you even if you only
keep one animal of the species covered. Please click the link below
to access web pages that explain how you must identify and move
livestock and horses.
Notification of the Movement of Sheep, goats and
Pigs
From 1 October 2011, new legislation comes into effect that
requires keepers to pre-notify pig movements electronically,
through the British Pig Executive (BPEX) /Meat & Livestock
Commercial Services Ltd (MLCSL). Keepers without Internet access
are offered a telephone service. From this date pig movement forms
(AML2) must be reported to the Meat and Livestock Commercial
Services Ltd (MLCSL) at MLCSL, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth,
Warwickshire, CV8 2TL.
Further information is available on the
BPEX website.
Sheep and goat movements must still be reported by the
destination premises to the local Authority by sending the white
copy of the AML1 movement form within 3 days of the movement.
Animal
Welfare
Not only is it against the law to be cruel to an
animal, you must also ensure that all the welfare needs of animals
are met. Please click the link below to access web pages that
explain the welfare rules for all owners and keepers of
animals.
Animal
By Product Disposal
Animal by-products (ABPs) are animal carcasses, parts of carcasses
or products of animal origin that are not intended for human
consumption. This includes catering/kitchen waste, used cooking
oil, former foodstuffs, butcher and slaughterhouse waste, blood,
feathers, wool, hides and skins, fallen stock, pet animals, zoo and
circus animals, hunt trophies, manure, ova, embryos and semen.
Please click the link below to access web pages that explain how to
correctly identify, move and dispose of animal by products.
Suffolk
Multiagency Animal Disease Response Plan
In preparation for any potential livestock disease outbreaks a
multiagency plan has been developed by Suffolk Trading Standards
and the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Unit. This plan summarises
the Suffolk multiagency response to a notifiable animal disease
outbreak. This plan allows co-ordinated contingency planning to
take place within Suffolk and is updated in line with and linked to
the national Framework Response Plan to Exotic Animal Diseases.
Please click the link below if you wish to access the Suffolk
Resilience Forums Animal Disease Response Plan.
If you require further guidance on any of the above subjects or
any other Animal health and Welfare related issue, please
contact us
Relevant Links