NFU call for a "full and frank" inquiry

The new Farming Minister, David Heath, has ordered an inquiry into the Ramsgate incident, in which more than 40 sheep died during a live export from Kent.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) are calling for the inquiry to be both "full and frank" following a number of concerns about how the incident was handled.

Last month, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) and RSPCA inspectors examined 500 sheep at the Port of Ramsgate. When moving the sheep from their lorry to an area used to wash vehicles, due to a lack of holding facilities at the port, some sheep fell into an underground tank.

Two sheep drowned, two suffered broken legs, and a further 42 sheep were shot on the advice of a vet because they were lame.

A spokesperson for the NFU said: "Concerns have been raised with us as to why contingency plans to deal with such events do not appear to have been followed by the bodies overseeing the trade and with the pressure that was placed on government officials to sanction the slaughter of these animals at the port by the RSPCA when more humane alternatives may have been available.”

Dermot Murphy of the RSPCA commented that the decision was taken to kill the animals at the port, rather than take them to a nearby abattoir, on the basis of veterinary advice that they were "not in a fit state to be transported".