Thousands of unassured lambs face being turned away from abattoirs unless a workable solution to Vet Attestation for export is published.

With only weeks until the December 13 deadline, the UK sheep sector is facing a potential market crash as abattoirs will be unwilling to take livestock, as they will not meet requirements for export to the EU.

Despite most of the cattle and sheep reared in the UK being consumed in the UK, meat processors regularly sell part of the carcase to Europe which makes non-compliant animals less attractive for purchase. EU rules state if animal products are to be exported to the continent the animal must come from a holding which has had a vet inspection within the last 12 months.

All quality-assured farms in schemes run by QMS or Red Tractor automatically qualify however non-assured businesses will need to prove they have had a vet inspection in the last year. As it stands the UK and Scottish governments are yet to publish guidance on how these declarations can be made but work is underway on a solution.

The Scottish Farmer understands whole-of-life assurances are not required to qualify for export and that only the last holding would need to be within an assurance scheme or declare a vet inspection.

The saga has been running for 18 months since Defra first started planning the vet attestation requirement. The most affected sector is the sheep industry which has the highest proportion of non-assured livestock.

The National Sheep Association had initially asked for a solution to be agreed upon by April this year to give the industry time to adjust before the December deadline.

Phil Stoker, NSA chief executive said: “We simply cannot allow a disruption in the export trade to occur due to the industry not having been given time to prepare. The date of December 13th is a self-imposed date and not specified by the EU or third countries. We now need a further extension to the deadline for full implementation otherwise we risk damaging international trade, and hitting farmer income for no necessary reason.”

Scott Walker, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, said: “It is not clear that farms with non-assured livestock know they must have a vet visit or how the details of the vet visit will get from the farm to the slaughterhouse.

“Our exports to the EU are too valuable to be jeopardised by a system that hasn’t been communicated or tested before being implemented. Unless farmers across GB know what to do and markets have a system in place to transfer the information to slaughterhouses, we can’t be confident Official Vets will in all cases have the information they need to sign export health certificates.

“Unless something changes rapidly and the Government up its game in terms of communication on the new requirement a solution for Scotland only is not sufficient and if the rest of GB is lagging behind Government should consider postponing this new requirement until all the systems have been put in place and tested across the whole of GB.”

Ian Wilson, executive director of the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers In Scotland, shared their frustration saying: “This is not a new post-Brexit issue and it feels as though Governments around the UK have failed to properly collaborate on a solution to this issue.

“This leaves the whole supply chain in the dark on how we are all going to be expected to keep trade active and fair. If they [government] are unable to achieve that then a further delay to implementation must be actively considered.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work with industry to help minimise disruption, but we encourage farmers to start organising and keep records of veterinary visits now if they are not already part of a recognised assurance scheme or taking part in an annual health and welfare review as part of our Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.”

It is understood that a visiting vet will provide a Vet Attestation Number (VAN) which can be recorded onto the Food Chain Information documentation. There is also work being done so this can be recorded on the livestock traceability systems for the different species.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “To support farmers, the Scottish Government is currently exploring an innovative digital solution whereby annual veterinary visits can be recorded and are readily available to certifying Official Veterinarians. Once initial scoping work has been carried out and internal procedures agreed, full guidance will be made available.”