First Live Sheep Export for Half Century Leaves Berwick

First Live Sheep Export for Half Century Leaves Berwick

A shipment of 2,000 store lambs from Borders and Northumberland in the United Kingdom left a small east coast port for Holland yesterday.

The 34-42 kilo (75-93 pound) animals were loaded onto the Danish-registered ?Caroline? at Berwick-upon-Tweed as the first livestock to leave the harbor for half a century. After a 36-hour trip to Rotterdam, the animals will have a short journey to further grazing.

All lambs in this shipment were checked by farmers? vets 24 hours before leaving the farm as well as by three Defra vets, Trading Standards officers and Customs and Excise as the sheep walked on to the ?Caroline.? In the past, up to one million live sheep were transported to the Continent each year before the foot-and mouth epidemic of 2001 and a ban on all exports.

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