Farmers in Britain cannot export their pedigree cattle, sheep and pigs to the EU because no one has built border control stations where vets can check the animals before they enter the single market. No private company in France has so far been prepared to invest the millions of euros needed to build a facility, halting British exports to continental Europe after Brexit. Now the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) plans to ask farmers if they will help fund the facility themselves. Meanwhile, some farmers say they have just months left to close their export operations, while others are moving to the EU. John Royle, chief animal adviser at the NFU, is trying to save British farmers who specialize in breeding prize-winning cattle, sheep and pigs which are then used to build up their own herds and herds. “These are high-value, sought-after, high-health animals,” he said. “They travel in better conditions than you or I would on a ship or in a tunnel. “When you consider what Brexit has cost countries on both sides of the border, with a modest investment we could restart trade to the benefit of both British and European farmers.” Queue of lorries at the port of Dover last month. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA The problems of being a third country have become clearer for travelers in Dover, with six-hour delays last month caused by checks on British passports and a lack of border posts. However, ports in the UK and EU have at least taken some steps to prepare for Brexit red tape affecting tourists. Not so much for animals. In 2019, Royle began writing to ports from the Hook of Holland and Zeebrugge to Calais and Dieppe, asking them to set up a facility, but none of them were interested. Eventually, he found a small French family company called Qualivia that was ready to bid to build a facility in Calais just outside the port. Qualivia, which Royle described as “really good breeders”, has been licensed by the French authorities and expects to receive approval from the European Commission soon. However, the company has sought assurances that it will recoup the cost of building a border control station, amid fears for the future of UK animal exports. “Essentially, what we’re doing now is helping Qualivia find the capital to build that infrastructure,” Royle said. “And that may need investment from UK businesses. Which is ridiculous, isn’t it? Because of Brexit, we have to finance our own facilities in France to transport our animals to European customers.” He added that although officials from the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tried to help, “there was no help from the government. None.” British breeders sent around 500 consignments a year, ranging from a single Aberdeen Angus breeding bull or a pair of ewes to 30 breeding pigs. Royle helps a farmer who settled in England because of the high standards of animal health: “This is a large pig farming operation where they raise core animals, at the top of the breeding pyramid, and they may have to relocate to Europe, essentially closing their business in the UK, which is not what they want to do.” Another victim of the lack of red tape is Geoff Roper, who introduced Australian Lowline cattle to his Dorset farm, Wessex Lowlines, 12 years ago, seeing the potential of a breed that is smaller than other cattle and usually only needs to be fed grass . , instead of grain feed, which makes it more sustainable. “We’ve built a lot of herds in Europe – in the Pyrenees, down in Bordeaux and Belgium, and up in Switzerland and Germany,” Roper said. “And we’ve been doing this for several years – we’re known as the center of excellence for these products in Europe.” He has five European customers who have paid deposits for Lowlines and some have been waiting for two years. Roper estimates he has lost £150,000 so far. “It just stopped our cash flow dead. I have half a million pounds worth of stock, half of which should go to Europe – 50 of them are ready now – but we can’t move them. I plan to continue funding this business until May next year. If we don’t know by May, we have some major issues.” Roper farm manager Sam Maughan said: “This was completely unexpected – we trusted the powers that be that there would be a short-term disruption and everything would be up and running again. There just seems to be a lot of money to be made. Certainly the UK government has a responsibility to UK businesses who provide for this country.’ The government has been approached for comment.
