Livestock keepers reminded of Animal By-Product law
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has warned farmers not to use disease-spreading compost and anaerobic digestion residues as bedding for their livestock.
Materials produced at plants approved under the Animal By-Product (ABP) Regulations (2011) must be controlled in order to stop the spread of animal diseases.
The AHVLA warns farmers both not to use the composts and digestives as bedding, and not to allow their livestock on land in which the materials have been applied.
By law, the crops from such land should not be used as feed for a period of 21 days (two months for pigs) after application - this is known as the "waiting period", in which the agency says it takes breaches very seriously.
However, the AHVLA encourages the responsible use of those composts and digestives as organic fertilisers and soil improvers, when applied using good agricultural practice.
Approval must be given when ground conditions prevent immediate application to land, and the composts and/or digestives need to be stored at a premises other than the plant in which it was produced, or the place of direct application.
The advice follows similar guidance issued in October, regarding the use of poultry litter as bedding.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
