Animal Welfare

Movement of Animals

The Animal Health Section of Durham County Council Trading Standards service is open 8.30 - 5.00 Monday to Thursday and 8.30 - 4.30 Friday. Staff are available to deal with enquires about farm animal movement and other farm animal welfare enquires. The phone number to call is 0191 3833392.

Following foot and mouth, certain licensing requirements for moving animals are still in operation under the post foot and mouth movement regime. The latest information on licensing requirements should be sought from us on the above number or from the DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) website.

Summary of the Main Requirements

General Movement Licences

From the 6th September 2002 it was no longer necessary to apply for an individual license to move most livestock. A movement may take place under the authority of a general licence provided the movement is a permitted one. In particular, you should be aware of the rules in relation to standstill periods for cattle, sheep, pigs and goats (see below). You do not need apply for the general licence, but you must comply with the conditions of the licence. Failure to observe the conditions of the general licence may mean that you will be barred from using it. You would then have to apply for an individual licence every time you wish to move any livestock. You will also have committed an offence and be liable to prosecution.

There are some exemptions to the above. Pigs moved from a market require a specific licence issued by the local authority. If you wish to walk a pet pig you will need a licence from DEFRA.

In the case of sheep, goats, deer or pigs you must complete the relevant parts of a standard movement document before the movement takes place. The movement document must accompany the animals during transport. A copy of the movement document must be sent to the local authority within 3 days.

All cattle movements must be notified to BCMS within 3 working days.

The general licence is available on the DEFRA website or we can send you a copy.

The standard movement document is available as an Adobe Acrobat file the DEFRA website or we can send you a copy. If you wish to view the Acrobat file, you may need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 downloads.

Standstill Periods

Any movement of animals on to your premises will trigger a standstill period during which no stock will be permitted to move off. The standstill period is 6 days for sheep and cattle and 20 days for pigs. However there are exemptions. Please check the DEFRA website or contact us for further details.

Any person requiring additional information should contact Durham County Council on 0191 383 3392. The Animal Health Section of Durham County Council Trading Standards service is open 8.30 - 5.00 Monday to Thursday and 8.30-4.30 Friday. Staff are available to deal with requests for animal movement licences and other animal health enquires.