The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been criticised by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) for failing to convene a meeting of all stakeholders to address outstanding pricing issues within the Fallen Animal Scheme.
Commenting on the matter, ICSA Animal Health and Welfare chairman Hugh Farrell said: “The ICSA is deeply unsatisfied with the roll-out of this scheme.
“Consultation with farming organisations was kept to an absolute minimum – and, as a result, farmers will ultimately face higher costs when disposing of dead animals,” he said.
While the knackeries have resumed services, which is welcome, a new maximum pricing structure has been imposed.
“A cost that was always too high will now potentially be even higher – and farmers are expected to just accept it.”
Farrell highlighted that the financial impact of losing an animal is significant, adding that the imposition of a “further significant cost on top of that to have an animal removed is neither fair nor just”.
“The livestock industry is worth billions to the Irish economy, yet the ones who make the least profit, the primary producers, are again being expected to pay more than their fair share.”
To amend this, the chairman said that additional supports for farmers to alleviate the costs associated with losing an animal is now a requirement.
ICSA believes the €54 cap on the disposal of cattle over 48 months should be used as a guide in this process, and all other price caps should be set at below this level.
“ICSA is also urging the knackeries not to use the price caps in the scheme as a target price as they are not indicative of the market rate, given the additional funding they will now receive from the Department of Agriculture,” he concluded.