The Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC) today launched a new booklet entitled 'Animal Welfare Guidelines for Managing Acutely Injured Livestock on Farm'.The publication sets out a procedure for managing an injured animal on farm including live transport to a slaughterhouse or transport following an emergency slaughter on farm. Stakeholders outside of FAWAC involved with veterinary public health issues have also been consulted in drafting the guidelines.
Welcoming the launch of the new booklet, Junior Agriculture Minister Tony Killeen, T.D., said the guidelines set out very comprehensively a method for managing injured livestock. The Clare T.D. added: These guidelines not which not only protects the welfare of the animal but also safeguards consumer health by providing very clear protocols to be followed by the farmer, his/her private veterinary practitioner and the slaughter plant in managing the injured animal".
"The procedure now in place will support farmers and their private veterinary practitioners in arriving at an informed decision on how best to deal with an injured animal. In establishing this protocol, which is provided for in European hygiene legislation and which specifically applies to healthy animals that have suffered some form of accident on farm, it provides an opportunity for farmers to achieve an economic benefit from some animals which heretofore would have had to be disposed of as fallen stock", stated Minister of State Killeen.
The booklet is available on the FAWAC website at www.fawac.ie or from the FAWAC Secretariat - email FAWAC@agriculture.gov.ie
