Both the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and the National Sheep Association (NSA) have welcomed a decision taken by a European Commission standing committee to relax requirements relating to the ageing of sheep.Current rules require that mouths are checked, and the carcases of sheep thought to be over 12 months are split to remove the spinal cord, something that devalues the carcase, slows line speeds in abattoirs and generally adds to costs.
Both the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and the National Sheep Association (NSA) have welcomed a decision taken by a European Commission standing committee to relax requirements relating to the ageing of sheep.
Current rules require that mouths are checked, and the carcases of sheep thought to be over 12 months are split to remove the spinal cord, something that devalues the carcase, slows line speeds in abattoirs and generally adds to costs.
The controls were originally introduced in the mid-1990s as a precautionary measure, due to the concern over the potential transfer of BSE to sheep, and a possible link between BSE and scrapie.
“Existing sheep TSE regulations have required that sheep be mouthed prior to slaughter and this has been a major inconvenience for some time. It is not a wholly accurate way of assessing the age of young sheep and a lot of time and money has been wasted complying with this requirement,” said UFU beef and lamb committee chair, Crosby Cleland.
Cut-off date
Under the change, it will now be up to industry and Government (Defra and the Food Standards Agency) to agree a cut-off date for sheep considered to be under 12 months of age. Anything born in the year previous would then not need to have a check done on its mouth for a permanent incisor if slaughtered before the cut-off date.
The NSA has previously suggested that the end of June should be used. Other farming organisations have suggested the end of May.
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