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Farmers have been advised to store fallen animal carcases securely under a protective tarpaulin or in an enclosed building until they can be collected as knackeries close their gates from Thursday.
The Department of Agriculture has advised farmers that any carcases should be stored in a way that domestic animals, other livestock or wild animals and birds cannot gain access to them.
Knackeries have gone on strike and are refusing to collect or accept delivered fallen animals as part of a dispute with the Department over supports for the industry.
The Animal Collector’s Association (ACA) wants a support package put in place to ensure the financial viability of the trade.
Regrettable
In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal, the Department said it was regrettable that the ACA had acted to withhold collection services from farmers. It said the revised scheme “substantially increased subsidies” for knackery operators.
A spokesperson said: “The Department would ask members of the association to continue to provide this vital service to their customers and has indicated that it remains available to the ACA to discuss the detail of the revised scheme."
The new scheme caps the collection fee knackeries can charge farmers for a fallen animal broken up over different age categories.
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