A Welsh farmer has been given a 24-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £10,000 for moving cattle when a tuberculosis restriction was in place.
Russell David Law, who runs a dairy farm at Lanfryn, White Mill, Carmarthen, was prosecuted by Carmarthenshire County Council after animal health officers received complaints that he was moving cattle on and off his farm and associate holdings whilst under a TB2 Whole Herd Movement Restriction.
On investigation it was found that Mr Law had moved cattle from Lanfryn Farm to three associated farms in Carmarthenshire and one in Ceredigion.
He also brought cattle onto his farm Lanfryn from associated farms, livestock markets and auctions without an approved licence and against the advice of his APHA case vet.
In doing so, he breached the Tuberculosis (TB) (Wales) Order and could have put not only the cattle at his farm Lanfryn at risk of TB but all other TB clear farms in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.
The council’s animal health officers said Mr Law also failed to report off and on movements of his cattle and the deaths of his cattle within the reporting time ranged required by The Cattle Identification (Wales) Regulation.
The off movements should be reported within three days of the movement, but Mr Law’s reporting time ranged between one day and 21 days.
The on movements are to be reported within three days of the movement but his reporting time ranged between two days and 25 days.
Deaths should be reported within seven days, but Mr Law’s reporting time ranged between one day and 143 days.
His case was heard at Llanelli Magistrates Court on July 20, 2018.
In mitigation, Mr Law said he had tried to contact an APHA vet to arrange a movement licence but that he was "met with a brick wall", and produced letters from his own vet as evidence.
The chair in sentencing has asked for concerns raised in the case to be fed back to APHA.
Cllr Philip Hughes, Carmarthenshire County Council’s executive board member for enforcement, said: “We will not hesitate to take action against people who choose to breach the laws which are designed to protect honest agricultural trade and biosecurity.
“The action by this farmer was irresponsible, not only for his own cattle, but others in farms across the region.”
