Livestock News

Arla Foods and DMK Group have announced a merger that aims at creating “the strongest dairy cooperative in Europe”.

The decision to extend the ban on personal imports to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been welcomed by British farming and meat industry leaders. 

A case of human flu in a pig has been confirmed in Northern Ireland. 

“Must be done to minimise the risk,” said NFU Cymru while urging the UK government to tighten border controls to help protect the Welsh livestock industry as the fears over foot-and-mouth disease are increasing. 

Sheep farmers in the South West of England have been warned of the risk of blowfly strike as the local Blowfly Watch risk alert was raised to amber.

A man from Cornwall has been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years after his pets killed 22 sheep and caused near-misses on the roads while roaming free. It is also claimed that the dogs killed cats and pet rabbits. 

Sheep farmers in England, Scotland and Wales can now ask their vet to test their flocks for exposure to EAE. This popular subsidised diagnostic service helps farmers identify possible reasons for early lamb losses.

Defra has pledged to tackle illegal meat imports by offering £3.1 million in funding for checks at the Port of Dover in 2025/2026. However, the port authority said that this is not enough to protect the livestock sector from potentially devastating disease outbreaks. 

Keeping cows in optimum condition before calving is absolutely critical to both cow and calf health. A new research by Purdue University has shown how important tailored nutrition is.

The avian influenza housing measures have been extended in the north of England to mitigate the risk of further outbreaks of the disease, Defra confirmed.

The season for disease due to liver fluke in cattle and sheep has been shifting later, and 2024/5 is no exception, SCOPS and COWS warn. 
  

Defra has just announced that the free-range poultry meat producers and processors will no longer need to change how free-range poultry meat is labelled when mandatory housing measures are introduced.