Farmers and vets: what happens on an animal health and welfare review
Find out what farmers must ask vets to do during a review, and what documentation farmers need from vets.
Applies to England
This is the first part of the ‘Get funding to improve animal health and welfare’ service. It will include:
- assessment of diseases and conditions
- advice on improving animal health, welfare and productivity
You must have an agreement before you do a review. A review usually takes between 2 and 3 hours. It can happen:
- over several visits
- in a single visit
You must ask the vet to complete the following steps before you claim.
During the review: sampling for disease testing
You must ask the vet to take samples for the required tests.
You must ask your vet to read the vet’s guidance on the required sampling and testing. You will only be eligible for funding if the vet follows this guidance. You can also read the vet’s guidance for details of the required testing, but it is not mandatory to.
Required testing
| Species | Test type | Minimum number of samples taken from: |
|---|---|---|
| Beef cattle | Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) blood (serum antibody test) | 5 unvaccinated cattle aged 9 to 18 months per management group in up to 2 groups |
| Dairy cattle | Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) bulk milk test. The farmer can take the bulk milk sample without the vet, if confident in doing so | A representative milk sample from the bulk tank |
| Sheep | Wormer treatment check. The farmer can collect faeces samples, if confident in doing so | Minimum of 10 lambs less than 12 months old. If you have less than 10 lambs on your farm, you can still apply, but you must test all lambs in your flock |
| Pigs | Test for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) antibodies. This test uses the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method | Minimum of 30 pigs sampled using 5 oral fluid ropes |
You can:
- arrange your review to fit in with your existing testing schedule if you’re already testing for these diseases or conditions
- use review test results for other accreditation schemes you’re a member of. Check with the accreditation scheme that they will accept testing from the review
You cannot use other accreditation scheme test results for this review funding.
If you ask the vet to test for other medical conditions or diseases, you must pay for that separately.
During the review: health and welfare advice
You must ask the vet to give you health and welfare advice about your livestock. You may discuss topics such as:
- biosecurity
- medicine usage
- any other health and welfare concerns you have
You can read the vet’s guidance for more information on health and welfare advice, but it is not mandatory to.
After the review: written report
You must ask the vet to give you a written report that gives:
- all assessment and test results
- recommended actions
The report should be a specific report for this review.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will not ask to see the report.
After the review: vet summary
You must ask the vet to give you a summary of the review. The summary gives the information you need to make a claim.
The summary must be a separate document. It can be a digital or paper version. When you claim, the RPA may ask to see it as evidence.
It is not mandatory for you to read the vet guidance, but you can if you want to know more about:
- what must be included in a review summary for cattle
- what must be included in a review summary for pigs
- what must be included in a review summary for sheep
You can also ask the vet to include a vet attestation number in the summary.
You’ll need this number if one or both of the following enter the food chain and may be exported to the EU:
- livestock you produce
- animal products derived from your livestock
Get help with your review
Contact the RPA and give your agreement number if you need help arranging or completing your review.
Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG
Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except public holidays
Funding to improve animal health and welfare: guidance for farmers and vets