The Animal Collectors' Association (ACA) is set to hold an emergency meeting later today (Thursday, November 12) as the dispute over a new Fallen Animal Scheme continues.

The previous scheme expired in September and talks between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the ACA have failed to reach agreement to date.

A spokesperson for the ACA told Agriland that the meeting for all of its members across the country is "to determine its next course of action in the continued absence of any credible proposal or meaningful engagement from the department".

Since October 19, fallen sheep collected by ACA-affiliated knackery operators have not been prepared and presented to DAFM vets for sampling for the disease, scrapie.

Two weeks ago, the ACA confirmed that the reduction in services had escalated further with knackeries no longer collecting fallen sheep and horses.

In addition, on-farm deaths of animals are not being notified to the department by knackeries.

Fallen animal scheme

The ACA previously stated that it "remains fully committed to providing a vital environmental and biosecurity service to Irish agriculture".

"However, knackery operators cannot continue to absorb rising operational costs without a reasonable subvention framework," the association said.

As part of the negotiations, it is understood that DAFM reportedly proposed an increase in the maximum payment rate for farmers as part of a new fallen animal collection scheme.

According to sources, the proposal includes raising the fees paid directly by farmers, in addition to increasing the department's contributions to collectors for cattle older than 48 months.

This would mean that the maximum collection fee for a bovine animal older than 48 months would increase from €54.03 to €69.50, which would be a 29% increase.

At the same time, it is understood the department’s payment to knackeries is expected to increase from €47.50 to €62/head for this class of animal, which represents a 30.5% increase.

A DAFM spokesperson told Agriland: "The department is currently in discussion regarding the Fallen Animal Scheme".

"As these negotiations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment on specific details at this stage."

The department has said that it "is continuing to engage on this matter and remains open and available for constructive dialogue and negotiations".

Farmers

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association's (ICSA) animal health and welfare chair, John Barron, previously urged the government to provide additional funding to resolve the dispute.

"The government needs to provide the money required to keep this essential service running without passing the extra cost on to farmers," he said.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has also stated that any solution to the dispute between knackeries and the department "better not involve higher charges on farmers".