Farmers told ‘be aware of expired authorisations’

20/03/2012 @ 11:59

Farmers have been urged by the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) to check that their livestock transporter authorisations are still valid following a warning by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) that those with out-of-date licenses could face a hefty fine.

“We have been told that AHVLA has written to all transporters whose authorisations were due to expire in January 2012 to inform them of the renewal process,” said FUW’s agricultural education and training committee chairman Alun Edwards.

“So we would like to remind farmers to check that they comply with the regulations, bearing in mind that they could face a custodial sentence and/or a fine of up to £5,000 if they get caught with an out-of-date license.”

The original authorisations were valid for a period of five years and those issued at the outset of the introduction of the Regulation are due to expire from January 2012.

There are two types of transport authorisation, which include short journey transporter authorisation (Type 1) for those involved in the transport of animals on journeys of over 65km and up to eight hours duration and long journey transporter authorisations (Type 2), for those involved in the transport of animals on all journeys of over 65km including those that exceed eight hours duration.

Renewal instructions and application packs are available through the transporter authorisation section of the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/animals/welfare/transport/transporter-authorisation