Trading standards

Medway Council is the enforcement authority for farm animal welfare and for disease prevention on farms, during transportation and at markets.

The standards for transporting animals are strictly controlled to reduce the possibility of transmitting diseases such as foot and mouth. Hygiene controls and bio-security rules are strictly enforced.

Stock records at farms are checked by enforcement agencies such as the British Cattle Movement Service (www.bcms.gov.uk) and controls are in place to regulate the disposal of animal carcasses. In the past, farmers could just bury animal carcasses but now they have to be transported to rendering plants. Animal by-products, such as meat trimmings from butchers shops, cannot be sent to landfill sites. These measures are in place to prevent the spread of diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE).

Further information is available on the Trading Standards website (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/medway) and from the Department for Food Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/default.htm).

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