Livestock farmers can now register for a funded vet visit under govt scheme
9th February 2023
A funded yearly vet visit is now available to farmers under the government’s Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
Stock photo for illustration only.
Defra has opened the first stage of its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which allows livestock farmers to register for a free annual visit from their chosen vet.
The Pathway is a government scheme aiming to support gradual and continual improvements to farm animal health and welfare.
The annual vet visit will allow farmers and vets to concentrate on the specific health and welfare priorities of the individual farm.
In order to be eligible to apply farmers must have one of the following: 11 or more beef cattle, 11 or more dairy cattle, 21 or more sheep, or 51 or more pigs. Full guidance on eligibility is available on gov.uk.
Payments will help cover the costs of the vet, testing for endemic diseases and conditions and the farmer’s time. Under the scheme farmers will receive:
- £684 for a pig review
- £436 for a sheep review
- £522 for a beef cattle review
- £372 for a dairy cattle review.
There is no set length of the review but it’s likely to take between 2-3 hours of the vet’s time and the farmer’s time.
The review is flexible, allowing farmers and their vets to decide what health and welfare priorities to focus on. After the review the vet will provide the farmer with a report including test results, advice and actions, other review findings and agreed priority recommendations and actions.
Farmers can register their interest on gov.uk, which takes around five minutes to complete.
Watch a demonstration video on how to apply:
