Ferrying livestock and agricultural goods, to and from the Northern Isles of Scotland, remains a critical service to farmers on the islands.

Since the only abattoir in Orkney closed five years ago this January, maintaining the ferry crossing between Kirkwall and Aberdeen has been vital to safeguarding the future survival of livestock business.

Lindsay Harvey, Orkney

Beef and sheep farmer Lindsay Harvey, based just outside Kirkwall, runs over 100 cattle and 250 ewes which are supplied to Scotbeef. He sends finished livestock off the island every Monday night, via the NorthLink ferry service.

He told us that since the closure of the abattoir, there had been no option for livestock to be slaughtered locally, which meant the ferry crossing was a lifeline for livestock farmers.

“I cannot stress enough how vital this ferry service is, without it, livestock farming on the island would be finished,” said Lindsay. “The service is a linchpin to the agricultural industry here, connecting us with Aberdeen and the mainland – if we were to stop transporting livestock overseas, then the agricultural economy here wouldn’t work.”

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He aired his concerns that discussions over transportation of livestock keep coming up in parliament, highlighting plans for a yearlong project , reviewing animal transport at sea.

At the end of 2022, a contract notice for tenders for an 11-month project, running from February to December, 2023, was issued on the Public Contract Scotland website. [See more - https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/23095694.northern-isles-livestock-shipping-scrutiny-scotgov/]

“Over the years, when this issue was raised, we invited politicians to come and see the systems for themselves, but many have failed to take up our offer,” he continued. “During that time, numerous vets have given good reports of the systems in place, but these conversations keep coming around.”

Lindsay added that one of the areas to be reviewed is the concept of ‘neutral time’ which effectively stops the clock for the duration of that passage, so farmers aren’t subject to the same livestock transport legislation as those classified as ‘rest or travel’ time.

“It is vital to Orcadian and Shetland livestock farmers that we maintain this neutral time status or else our businesses would be finished,” Lindsay concluded.