Hunts make a vital contribution to farming by providing farmers with a fallen animal collection service on a daily basis. Dead cattle and sheep are disposed of through this service. Without it there are risks in terms of animal disease control and to animal husbandry. Farming costs will increase as a result of the ban. What alternatives will be put in place by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to facilitate a cost-effective fallen animal collection service and on-site post mortem facilities? The prompt and secure removal and appropriate disposal of fallen stock is essential to mitigating the potential effect such carcases might have on human, animal and environmental health. What is a farmer to do with a dead carcass on the farm? In most cases farmers wish to know what caused the death of a cow, sheep or other animal and they call their local vet to carry out a post mortem examination on the carcass. By law, this cannot be done on the farm and must be carried out only after the Enfer BSE test shows a negative result. The test is carried out at the Ward Union Hunt kennels.

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