Kepak Athleague held two information events on the Clean Livestock Policy for suppliers on Monday and Tuesday evening.

The plant has faced disruptions to normal throughput over the last week and the event focused on giving guidance to farmers and explaining what type of sheep presented for slaughter were currently falling into the three different categories, A, B and C.

There was a live demonstration of hoggets to aid this process. The type of hoggets currently being classified as category A are those with a clean fleece with no soil or bedding contamination.

Ronan Collins, Kepak, told those in attendance that it was not just the appearance of the sheep when standing that counted. He said that lambs also needed to be clean on the neck, belly and tail region.

The sheep being classified as category B sheep by vets at the facility are those that have a slight level of soiling that can be rectified by clipping a line down the middle of the underside of the animal from its neck to tail.

Ronan said that where there are any daggings or significant soiling present, it is likely to lead to sheep being classified as a category C animal.

A classical category C animal showing heavy soiling of the fleece on its belly region.

This is particularly the case where sheep are wet. The advice is where at all possible was to present sheep dry.

Category C animals aroused the greatest confusion. Ronan said that any lambs that have significant soiling in their fleece on any part of their body are currently being categorised as category C animals.

There were a number of batches of sheep present to demonstrate this point, with many of these already undergoing clipping from their neck down to their belly and around the tail region.

Ronan said that in the case of a category C animal, vets are requiring that a band of wool is shorn along the butchery line from the animal’s neck back to the top of their tail head. In crossbred or horned sheep, the current requirement for lambs to be accepted for slaughter is that no long wool can hang down over this region, which is being interpreted by some vets that these lambs need to be fully shorn.

Farmers were told that it is not sufficient for farmers to remove heavily soiled wool around the belly and tail region with a dagging shears as vets require a skin-tight clipping. Ronan said that suppliers who may be unsure about the condition of their sheep should contact their procurement agent to seek clarification before presenting sheep for slaughter.

Heavy criticism

Category C sheep are currently being rejected for slaughter and sent home from factories. The Department’s handling of the Clean Livestock Policy came under heavy criticism from IFA Roscommon chair John Hanley and ICSA sheep chair John Brooks at the events.

It was also highlighted in a meeting between the IFA and senior Department vets on Monday morning and again in a meeting between the IFA and Minister Michael Creed on Monday night.

Following Monday’s meeting, IFA sheep chair Sean Dennehy said: “The Department of Agriculture have agreed to review the unworkable aspects of the current policy and to revert to the IFA by the end of this week. IFA made it clear that sending sheep home and full shearing are not part of any policy and are totally unacceptable. The Department agreed to review sending sheep home and also made it clear full shearing was not necessary.”