TheCattleSite Foot and Mouth Disease News
Guidance For Livestock Keepers
UK - Guidance for livestock keepers for General Welfare Movements Licences between land under the Same Occupation for FMD 2007 (15 August 2007).Duty of Care
Livestock keepers have a duty of care for their animals to take reasonable steps to ensure that the animals’ needs are met. This means that a person has to look after the animals’ welfare as well as ensure that they do not suffer. This covers such things as;
- a suitable environment (how it is housed);
- a suitable diet (what it eats and drinks);
- the ability to exhibit normal behaviour patterns;
- any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals; and
- protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
The application of these principles will help farmers assess whether or not a move to protect susceptible animals within the Restricted Zone can take place under this current licence for this purpose.
Movements required to protect the welfare needs highlighted above must only take place under valid circumstances and where no other solution can be found.
Economic impacts of the current restrictions are not an welfare issue, though Defra do recognise the need for other livestock movements to begin to limit impact on the farming industry. A timeline for further planned movement licences is available on the Defra website.
