Guidance

Cattle movement general licence

Cattle owners and keepers must follow the conditions of this licence when they move their animals.

Applies to England

Documents

Annex A to C: General licence for the movement of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs

Details

The licence tells you the rules about:

  • cleaning and disinfection
  • movements not permitted under this licence
  • standstill
  • animal identification
  • pick-ups, drop-offs and stops
  • mixing species
  • movements to and from zoos
  • reporting movements

You must also record and report cattle movements.

Annex A to C tells you the rules about:

  • standstill
  • pick-ups, drop-offs and stops

Updates to this page

Published 13 July 2009
Last updated 1 April 2022 + show all updates
  1. General licence PDF has been replaced by an accessible version to view online.

  2. This guidance has been updated to show it applies to England only.

  3. Made it clear that a general licence can only be used for movements directly between common land, and premises that have the right to use that common land. Made it clear that standstill rules apply to movements to bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) finishing units. Added that you can't move cattle under a general licence if the movement isn't allowed under a bovine TB control or restriction.

  4. Updated versions of documents published

  5. First published.

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