Vol. 536 No. 2
223 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the plans he has to regulate the sale of lambs through the livestock marts; and the way in which lambs can be sold or bought at dead weight prices at these marts and transferred to the factories in bulk lots having been tipped-tagged. [13722/01]
In the context of foot and mouth disease, FMD, controls relating to animal movements, the use of livestock marts as collection points for the assembly of cattle and sheep, and more recently pigs going for slaughter has been allowed. The use of marts for this purpose is governed by a protocol, which sets out, inter alia, the conditions for the approval of the marts, the identification of the animals involved and the supervision and monitoring of the operations by Department officials. There is no provision in the protocol for the sale of animals, including lambs, through the marts. It is understood, however, that some marts have facilitated the purchase by meat factories of sheep on a live weight basis from herdowners by weighing the animals at the mart.
