Farmer given conditional discharge for breaking foot and mouth restrictions

A Herefordshire farmer who admitted moving cattle and sheep when there was a total ban on livestock movements due to foot and mouth restrictions was given a conditional discharge at Hereford Magistrates Court on Friday, October 26.

Nigel Bevan, 52, of Coldbrook Farm, St Weonards, who was charged with moving the livestock on Friday, September 14, was also ordered to pay £548.09 in costs.

Mr Kevin O'Keefe, prosecuting for Herefordshire Council, told the court Mr Bevan was seen by one of the council's health and welfare officers transporting four rams and four cattle two days after an order had been signed banning movement of livestock.

Mr Bevan was moving the animals from one of his farm sites to another, a distance of about five miles.

In mitigation, Mr Bevan admitted he had broken the law but said he was concerned about the welfare of his animals. The four cows he transported were heavily pregnant, one of which in fact calved the following day and suffered from milk fever, a potentially fatal disease. He also said that the law was far from clear at the time of the outbreaks.

Mr Mike Higgins, Herefordshire Council's animal welfare manager, said: "As an authority our first priority must be to ensure the health and welfare of all animals in the county. This farmer's actions could have caused the spread of disease and we felt it was only proper to prosecute him.

"The county was badly affected by the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 and we must all be aware of legislation which aims to prevent this happening again," he added.