Welfare of Calves at Markets Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations make provision for the welfare of calves at markets by requiring that only calves which are at least 7 days old and which do not have unhealed navels are brought to market (regulation 3(a) and (b)) and set a limit on the number of times that a calf aged less than twelve weeks may be brought to market within 28 days (regulation 3(c)). A calf aged more than 12 weeks may only be brought to market on more than one occasion within 28 days where such movement is not likely to cause that calf unnecessary pain or distress (regulation 3(d)).

The Regulations impose a duty on the owner of any calf aged up to 12 weeks kept at a market to ensure that it is removed from the market within 4 hours of the last sale of calves (regulation 4). Regulation 5 provides that any breach of the provisions of the Regulations is an offence under section 2 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. A person guilty of an offence under that section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (currently £2,500) or both.