SHEEP BREEDERS involved in the trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been thrown a lifeline following months of disruption arising from Brexit.

Under a new agreement with the European Commission, any breeder involved in the trade of breeding sheep across the 'sea border' created by the Northern Ireland Protocol can register for the new scrapie requirements immediately through membership of a new Scrapie Qualifying Scheme, now available through SRUCs Premium Sheep and Goat Health Scheme.

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This deal with the EU allows a short window, between now and December 31, 2021, within which farmers can apply to join this scheme and once application is made stock will be deemed to comply with these requirements. Existing MV accreditation remains as it was previously.

The National Sheep Association has welcomed these changes to scrapie monitoring requirements, saying that they will enable the continued movement of breeding sheep to Northern Ireland. NSA chief executive, Phil Stocker, said: “It is crucial that anyone interested in selling breeding sheep to buyers in Northern Ireland registers for this qualifying scheme within this short time period, unless of course they are already members of the Scrapie Monitoring Scheme.

"It takes three years to complete the scheme and to have full Scrapie monitored status, but it has been agreed that farmers can trade from day one of entry into this new qualifying scheme (SQS). However, farmers should also be aware that once in the scheme they will only be able to source incoming stock from other SQS or SMS flocks so the option to join needs careful consideration. At this stage this only applies for farm-to-farm movements and there is more work to be done in relation to establishing any Export Assembly Centres that might bring us back to any level of normality of competitive auctioning in this trade.”

Further details on SQS, the application process and scheme rules are available to download from the SRUC website. Animals from flocks with SQS status will be able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, providing they meet the other requirements of the relevant Export Health Certificate (EHC). Enquiries regarding SQS should be sent to psghs@sruc.ac.uk or for EHCs, email exports@apha.gov.uk.

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