CLA calls for extension to derogation for burying livestock
The CLA has called for the temporary exemption for burying thousands of perished livestock to be extended until the end of April.
The Association has written to Farming Minister David Heath saying it was particularly important for farmers in the Uplands to be given extra time to bury their fallen stock after recent bad weather, and reported that CLA members in Cumbria alone have lost up to half of their breeding stock.
CLA President Harry Cotterell said: “We are hugely appreciative of the Government’s derogation in the first place. However, in areas of England where permission has been granted, farmers are still unable to bury fallen stock because of the frozen or inaccessible ground. They may have so many deaths they are unable to manage them all.
“Livestock farmers are concerned they will not be able to dispose of their fallen stock within the current exemption timeframe as large numbers of dead animals are still being uncovered. In the Uplands, this could continue for some weeks.”
