Knackeries halt fallen sheep and horse collections as DAFM dispute deepens

Knackeries across Ireland will stop collecting fallen sheep and horses from this week, the Animal Collectors' Association (ACA) has confirmed, as its dispute with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) over the Fallen Animal Scheme enters a second week.

The escalation does not stop at collection. The ACA said knackeries will also stop notifying DAFM of on-farm animal deaths, removing a reporting layer the department relies on for livestock traceability and disease surveillance.

The action began on Monday, October 19, when ACA-affiliated operators first stopped preparing and presenting fallen sheep to DAFM veterinary inspectors for sampling for scrapie. That step suspended a testing routine that underpins Ireland's monitoring of the fatal brain disease in sheep.

Why has the dispute escalated?

The scheme that funded the service expired on September 30. The ACA said it submitted what it called "a comprehensive, sustainable business case" to DAFM before that deadline.

"This proposal detailed mechanisms designed to establish a fair and workable scheme for operators, detailing options to limit increases in the rates charged to farmers," the association said in a statement.

The ACA accuses the department of stalling. "Instead of engaging constructively with these solutions, DAFM has repeated a historic pattern of waiting for schemes to fully expire, forcing knackery operators into an escalating reduction of vital services," the association said.

Operators say they can no longer carry the cost base alone. "Knackery operators cannot continue to absorb rising operational costs without a reasonable subvention framework," the ACA said, while adding that it "remains fully committed to providing a vital environmental and biosecurity service to Irish agriculture".

Its demand is specific: "The ACA calls on DAFM to immediately return with a meaningful proposal that protects the infrastructure of the collection system without placing any additional burden on farmers."

What does DAFM say?

A department spokesperson told Agriland: "The Fallen Animal Scheme is an important element of Ireland's livestock infrastructure, through which department funding provides support for farmer access to fallen animal collections and protects animal health."

"The department has been engaged in negotiations with the Animal Collectors Association in relation to the scheme for several months, with a view towards agreeing a new scheme which delivers support for farmers and value for taxpayers."

The spokesperson added: "The department is continuing to engage on this matter and remains open and available for constructive dialogue and negotiations."

Both sides therefore claim willingness to talk. Neither has announced a date for the next round of negotiations, and with the scheme now lapsed for more than a month, no funding mechanism currently underwrites the collection network.

What about farmers' costs?

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has drawn its own red line. Any resolution to the dispute "better not involve higher charges on farmers", the association said.

ICMSA deputy president Eamon Carroll insisted the solution must come from within the department's own funds, not from higher collection fees passed down the chain to farm gates.

That positions the farm organisations alongside the knackeries on one point: the subvention gap is a state responsibility. Farmers now face the immediate practical question of how to dispose of fallen sheep and horses while collection cover is withdrawn, and the biosecurity risk of carcasses remaining on farms.

Watch for DAFM's next move on a replacement scheme and whether the scrapie sampling withdrawal draws a regulatory response. The resumption of sheep and horse collections, and of death notifications, remains the clearest signal that a funding deal has landed.