16 JANUARY 2018
ICSA sheep chairman John Brooks has said that processors are abusing the Department of Agriculture’s Clean Livestock Policy (CLP) by overly clamping down wet sheep. Mr Brooks said, “Processors have gone completely overboard on this issue; wet sheep are not dirty sheep.”
Mr Brooks has been receiving calls from ICSA members outlining the difficulties they have been experiencing with sheep factories recently. “In the last week, the ante has been upped by processors. By all accounts wet sheep were perfectly acceptable up until last week. If they now want to introduce a policy of dry sheep only they will have to look at their own facilities. There is plenty of scope to improve lairage conditions so sheep can dry off before slaughter. There is also scope to improve wash bay facilities for trailers.”
“Sheep farmers cannot stop the rain from falling so it is impossible to present dry sheep only for slaughter. ICSA does not condone producers bringing sheep for slaughter in an unfit condition but wet sheep do not contravene the ethos of CLP. I am calling on the processors to abandon their recent heavy handed approach and row back in this nonsensical approach to wet sheep.”
ENDS
