
Sheep
From initial registering your sheep through to the final product packaging and labelling.
Updated 9 May 2024
Transport & slaughter
Transporting sheep
If you transport your sheep, you have a legal responsibility to ensure their welfare during transit. You must also complete a movement document to accompany the sheep (see ‘Moving sheep’).
There are also limitations on what animals you can transport and how far. For example, you cannot transport ill or heavily pregnant sheep.
Farm Advisory Service has published a guide on your legal duties in transporting animals.
If you use a transport business, you should check that they hold the right authorisations to transport sheep. Instructions for how to check on APHA website.
Read more:
- Livestock transport: an information and training package, Quality Meat Scotland
- ‘Welfare of commercial animals in transport’, Scottish Government
- The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Scotland) Regulations 2006
Approvals
If your farm business transports sheep more than 65km, you will need to apply for two types of approvals. There are different requirements for both approvals depending on whether the journey is under or over 8 hours.
- Drivers need a Certificate of Competence (CoC) which confirms that they know how to transport animals responsibly. CoC is not required for journeys to the vet. NPTC City & Guilds Assessment Centre and Lantra organize CoC courses.
- Your farming business needs a Transporter Authorisation. Contact APHA Welfare in Transport team for an application pack – the authorisation is valid for 5 years.
If the journey is over 8 hours, you must also get your vehicle and containers approved. This approval is valid for 5 years, and you can find details of certifying bodies on APHA website.
Read more:
Slaughtering sheep
Lambs sent for slaughter are generally 2.5 to 8 months old. To place sheep meat on the market, the sheep must in most circumstances be slaughtered in an approved abattoir.
Abattoirs must be approved by Food Standards Scotland (FSS)- see the list of approved abattoirs. You must also provide the abattoir a Food Chain Information declaration about the sheep. See guidance on Food Chain Information by FSS.
Before sending your sheep to an abattoir, check that they are correctly tagged (see ‘Tagging sheep’). The sheep must be reasonably clean to comply with meat hygiene standards. FSS has a Clean Sheep for Slaughter guide for producers.
Home slaughter
You can slaughter your own sheep if the meat is for your immediate household’s consumption. There are legal requirements for home slaughter:
- The farmer must slaughter the animal, not anyone else.
- The slaughter must be done on your farm.
- Specified risk material (SRM) must be removed, stained, and disposed of as Category 1 (high risk) waste.
- The Welfare at the Time of Killing (WATOK) regulations apply.
Read more: