DEAR EDITOR,

I read with disappointment an article in last week’s edition of the Irish Farmers Journal which stated that restrictions on store and breeding stock moving between the south and north will be continued.

Both departments now need to understand the impracticality this is causing and the serious complications that their rules are unnecessarily causing farmers.

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I purchased 50 in-calf heifers from a farm in Limerick the day before the ban came in to force at the end of January. I have not been able to move these animals and they are now getting close to calving. I will not be able to get them home unless the travel ban is lifted this week.

I also spoke with a local pedigree cattle breeder who had sold stock to a buyer in the south but is in the same situation as myself. He is frustrated by the lack of common sense that the sale cannot proceed.

I understand a derogation on the health certificate can be a solution even as a transitional arrangement for the stock sold prior to the ban. However, the departments north and south have again dithered on this matter and given no clarity or timeline.

I know many farmers are now frustrated in similar situations at the lack of progress from both departments and politicians. It makes no sense that animals outside the lockdown zone cannot move within the island. If an animal has a clear test for bluetongue, then it should be able to move under a proper license.