Shock over decision on sheep dip disposal permits in Wales 

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has announced that it will stop issuing new permits for disposal of waste sheep dip to land.

Farmers will be required to have waste dip removed by a registered waste carrier and disposed of in a suitable waste facility instead.

NRW has confirmed that farms with active permits can continue to dispose to land for the time being, but eventually all waste dip will need to be disposed of via a registered waste carrier. 

Where a farmer no longer needs to dispose of waste sheep dip to land, they will be able to surrender their permit for free.

The permit application cost was increased nearly 10-fold in July 2023, to £3,840.

“Astonished”

NFU Cymru Livestock Board chairman Rob Lewis said the union was “shocked” by the decision. 

“The practice of sheep dipping in Wales is integral to maintain the high flock health status of the Welsh flock,” he said.

“The decision has implications for animal health and welfare, the ongoing management of key habitats and disadvantages young farmers/new entrants to the sheep sector.”

The union has written to NRW and called for the decision to be reversed.   

“We were also astonished to read in NRW’s statement that it is its intention to phase out any applications to land in the long term, with no evidence to support such a course of action,” Mr Lewis continued. 

“NFU Cymru believes that there is no scientific case to prevent disposal on land as it is clear that regulated spent sheep disposal on NRW approved sites on-farm, presents no risk to the environment. 

“New applications for permits are still available elsewhere in the UK.”  

“Totally premature”

NFU Cymru Rural Affairs Board chairman Hedd Pugh added: “We are extremely disappointed that NRW has taken this decision in the complete absence of proper consultation with the industry and in the knowledge that, despite considerable efforts, we are nowhere near getting a workable spent dip disposal scheme operational in Wales.”

There are issues around collection and storage, but more importantly, the end point and high cost of incinerating spent dip, he explained.

He described NRW’s decision as “wrong” and “totally premature” without an alternative disposal scheme in place. 

NRW advises farmers needing their sheep dipped without a permit to apply to use the Welsh Government-funded Gwaredu Scab programme.

Mr Pugh said this is “at best, shortsighted” and not a sustainable solution. 

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“Whilst we recognise and welcome that a proportion of sheep scab control and disposal is currently being subsidised by the government-funded programme, when this project comes to an end farmers who currently use the scheme may well need to revert back to land disposal.”

Concluding, Rob Lewis warned that the announcement will “hinder” efforts to eradicate sheep scab.  

“NFU Cymru is clear that this decision must be overturned. There must be proper consultation with the industry before moving forward.”

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