Animal Health Inspection Work Experience-Aklington Mart

I have spent a few days with Northumberland County Councils Animal health Inspectors.
Today began with a visit to Acklington Mart. I asked the inspector why they visit the marts.
I was told that there are three main reasons. To evaluate the health and livelihood of individual animals and evaluate the health of larger groups for disease prevention. However I was told that the most important reason that Marts are visited is to speak to the farmers and buyers present. It is here that the inspectors can learn about the 'goings on' on other farms from the farmers and so it is essential to have a good rapport with the farmers that attend the mart, as often it is only through these individuals that the inspectors will be made aware of an issue.

We moved through the sheep holding pens, looking closely at the stock. The main things to watch for are lameness, in terms of welfare, and checking that all ear markers are present, as it is illegal to move animals without this form of identification.
We saw a Scottish Black faced ewe who had a deformed foot, with a elongated hoove, however, due to the fact that it was clear that it was not suffering no further action was needed to be taken.
We then moved onto the pens which were receiving sheep from the farms for sale that day. It was here that I became aware of the 6 day movement prevention. This is in place to prevent the spread of disease. The theory behind this is that after this period of time a farmer should be able to see the signs of disease in the animals so that further action can be taken, thereby preventing the spread of a particular disease to other animals.
I was also introduced to the AML, the animal movement licence. I saw how this was filled in on arrival with times that the animals had arrived, number of animals transported and where they came from. It is the legal requirement that farmers bringing animals to a mart must have their licence indicating movement. These documents are essential if a disease in the particular animal becomes apparent, as Animal Health Inspectors will be able to see where the animals have previously been, so that these premises can be inspected for the disease.
I noticed that at this point the Inspector helped the farmers with the unloading and movement through the holding pens. The Inspector told me that although the farmers think that he is helping, the unloading of the animals is the best possible time to identify any issues with the stock such as first signs of disease or lack of ear tags.
The Inspector then checked a number of the AMLs for the morning so far, making a note of the ones that were checked in case aspects of the forms were not correctly filled in.
After this we moved to the turntables where the lambs were being separated into selling groups and then weighed. It was at this point that we stayed for a while as the inspector had heard rumours that a farmer was maltreating the sheep, however this was not apparent on inspection.
There was over 3500 ewes and lambs at the mart, and selling was going well with prices the best they had been in the area for a number of weeks which was good for the farmers and this was clear to see.
When we were confident that the sheep were all fine, we moved onto the cattle which were just beginning to arrive for the afternoon sales. I was introduced to the cattle passport which was of chequebook size and detailed the individuals age, sex, the owner, the animals individual number as well as the mothers individual number so that she can be tracked down if need be.
The cattle then move through a narrow gate system where I assisted in adding a sticky substance to their back, so that numbers can be added. I saw a 2 year old bull come through, which although good looking was small even compared with the cows nearby. I was told that he could not be feasibly mated with any other cow, as the offspring would be too small and so their value would be depreciated.
I was able to see the cattle which were separated to be culled immediately and these will go straight to the slaughterhouses. Any main cuts such as fillet and steaks which can be taken off the animal will be whilst the rest will be used for processed meat and other products. At this point I was told that Morrison's is the best buyer of produce at the mart and indeed all over, only buying the best animals which fit their standards-they will only take certain breeds of lamb and they must not be over 45kg for example. Therefore if your stock is brought by Morrison's, the inspector told me that you can consider your stock in the top 1/3 at the market.
As we moved through the pens I noticed another group of cattle which were kept separate. When I asked why, it was because they were from a Parish that had had TB in a herd due to a farmer buying stock from the Devon/Cornwall area which apparently is rife with TB. They must be checked for TB either once, twice, three or four times a year as a result. I was told that DEFRA have announced pre-movement testing in England and Wales from 2005 to help to prevent the spread of the disease between herds.
Bovine TB is spread primarily through the exchange of respiratory secretions between animals which are infected and those which are not. Therefore since this will occur when animals are close together, animal density plays a large part in Bovine TB transmission. I was also told by the Inspector that it is now a statutory requirement that all cattle over 42 days old moving out of a herd which is tested once or twice yearly, must have tested negative to a TB test within 60 days prior to movement unless the herd or movement meets an exemption.
I was also shown a bull which had a in turned horn which was beginning to press against the skin. At present the eyelid still moved normally when the animal blinked and so it was clear that the skin was not yet trapped by the horn pressing, however the Inspector approached the owner, ensuring that he knew about the situation-asking him to keep am eye on the situation. I.e, to cut the horn if the situation worsened. A note was then made of this, so that the Inspector could go back to his records and know that the farmer was told about this on a particular date.
When we had looked at all the cattle coming in for the market (66 in total today) we moved out into the car park to inspect the wagons and ensure that everyone had complied with the Wash and Disinfect act. This states that a wagon or vehicle must be thoroughly washed down and disinfected regularly, but can be done at their farm. Farmers are able to move for 24 hours between the same two points, e.g to pick up another load for market. However, as soon as they plan to make a journey to a third point, the vehicle must be disinfected, ensuring that the spread of disease is kept to an absolute minimum and this is essential to make sure that other outbreaks such as the foot and mouth in 2001 do not occur.