After years of industry campaigning, Defra has confirmed plans to use a fixed cut-off date of June 30 to age lambs instead of checking teeth.
The move could potentially save producers and the supply chain an estimated £24 million.
The new system will provide a much simpler and more accurate way for farmers, market operators and abattoir operators to determine whether a lamb is over 12 months old and whether the carcass needs to be split to remove the spinal cord.
How it started
Carcass splitting and the removal of specified risk material such as spinal cords are a result of the BSE crisis of the 1990s, when there were thought to be possible risks of links between BSE in cattle and human TSE and Scrapie in sheep.
Industry assessments calculated that the system of teeth checking was costing the UK sheep industry in excess of £24 million a year. The main costs coming from mouthing sheep to check for tooth eruption, and a loss of carcass value when teeth had erupted.
The NFU has been one of the bodies leading lobbying efforts.
National Farmers’ Union livestock board chairman Richard Findlay said: “The NFU and other industry organisations, including those representing the devolved nations, have long been urging the Government to implement a simpler and more accurate system of ageing lambs.
We welcome the news of a cut-off date as it will mean no mouthing of sheep and no splitting of carcasses – which can unnecessarily devalue carcasses by as much as 40% – before June 30.
“This change will enable the industry to cease dentition checks entirely, providing a far more precise way to age lambs at the time of slaughter and potentially adding millions of pounds of value to the industry.”
The NFU has campaigned over many years and has recently worked with the National Sheep Association to provide evidence to the government supporting a June cut-off date.
