Return of NI sheep from approved show or sale in GB

Friday 31st December 2021
Category: All News

A new Export Health Certificate (EHC) is now available which permits, subject to certain conditions, the return to Northern Ireland (NI) of cattle, sheep and goats which originate in NI and are moved to Great Britain (GB) for an approved show or sale.

To use the EHC the following is required:

  • Show or sale must be approved and operate in accordance with EU Export Assembly Rules (APHA approval guidelines).
  • Segregation of NI animals must be maintained throughout the show/sale and comply with all relevant requirements for entry into the Union. Brucella ovis testing for uncastrated male sheep is to be conducted in NI, as part of the requirements for the export health certificate to GB before movement to the show/sale in GB.
  • Cattle, sheep or goats are moved directly from the establishment of origin in NI to the approved establishment in GB.
  • Cattle, sheep or goats have no contact with animals of a lower health status from the loading for dispatch to GB, for the duration of the event until loading for dispatch to NI, and transport to their premises of destination in NI.

Entry requirements for NI animals attending approved show/sale

All NI origin animals entering the approved show or sale must be accompanied by the relevant export health certificate, which can be obtained from your private Authorised Veterinary Inspector.

For sheep and goats, an additional supplementary certificate attesting to the scrapie and brucella status (uncastrated sheep only) is required.

Further advice and guidance in relation to exporting breeding & production cattle sheep and goats directly from their premises of origin can be found at:

Sheep & Goats: Export certification for breeding/production sheep & goats to GB directly from their premises of origin

Brucella ovis testing requirements

Uncastrated male sheep must have tested negative for Brucella ovis within 30 days of the proposed return l movement to GB to enable completion of the re-entry health certificate.

Re-entry process

All NI animals returning from approved GB show or sale must be accompanied by the ‘re-entry’ export health certificate(external link opens in a new window / tab) and pre-notified on TRACES-NT using a CHED-A (Moving live animals into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

In contrast to those GB origin sheep moving to NI, those sheep and goats returning to NI do not require an import licence.