Farmer heavily fined for breaching TB order | Dirwy sylweddol i ffermwr am dorri gorchymyn TB

Farmer heavily fined for breaching TB order

A CARMARTHENSHIRE farmer has been given a 24-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £10,000 for moving cattle when a tuberculosis restriction was in place.

Russell David Law who runs a dairy farm at Lanfryn, White Mill, Carmarthen, was prosecuted by Carmarthenshire County Council after animal health officers received complaints that he was moving cattle on and off his farm and associate holdings whilst under a TB2 Whole Herd Movement Restriction.

On investigation it was found that Law had moved cattle from Lanfryn Farm to three associated farms in Carmarthenshire and one in Ceredigion.

He also brought cattle onto his farm Lanfryn from associated farms, livestock markets and auctions without an approved licence and against the advice of his APHA case vet.

In doing so, he breached the Tuberculosis (TB) (Wales) Order and could have put not only the cattle at his farm Lanfryn at risk of TB but all other TB clear farms in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

The council’s animal health officers said Mr Law also failed to report off and on movements of his cattle and the deaths of his cattle within the reporting time ranged required by The Cattle Identification (Wales) Regulation.

The off movements should be reported within three days of the movement, but Law’s reporting time ranged between one day and 21 days.

The on movements are to be reported within three days of the movement but Law’s reporting time ranged between two days and 25 days.

Deaths should be reported within seven days, but Law’s reporting time ranged between one day and 143 days.

His case was heard at Llanelli Magistrates Court on July 20, 2018.

In mitigation, Law said he had tried to contact an APHA vet to arrange a movement licence but that he was ‘met with a brick wall’, and produced letters from his own vet as evidence.

The chair in sentencing has asked for concerns raised in the case to be fed back to APHA.

Cllr Philip Hughes, Carmarthenshire County Council’s executive board member for enforcement, said: “We will not hesitate to take action against people who choose to breach the laws which are designed to protect honest agricultural trade and biosecurity. The action by this farmer was irresponsible, not only for his own cattle, but others in farms across the region.”

Dirwy sylweddol i ffermwr am dorri gorchymyn TB

MAE ffermwr o Sir Gaerfyrddin wedi cael ei rhyddhau’n amodol am 24 mis a’i orchymyn i dalu £10,000 am symud gwartheg yn ystod cyfyngiad twbercwlosis.

Cafodd Russell David Law, sy’n rhedeg fferm laeth yn Lanfryn, Felin-wen, Caerfyrddin, ei erlyn gan Gyngor Sir Caerfyrddin ar ôl i swyddogion iechyd anifeiliaid gael cwynion ei fod yn symud gwartheg ar ei fferm ac oddi ar ei fferm, yn ogystal â deiliadaethau cysylltiedig, a hynny yn ystod Cyfyngiad TB2 ar Symud Buches Gyfan.

Yn dilyn ymchwiliad canfuwyd fod Law wedi symud gwartheg o Fferm Lanfryn i dair fferm gysylltiedig yn Sir Gaerfyrddin ac un yng Ngheredigion.

Roedd hefyd wedi dod â gwartheg i Fferm Lanfryn o ffermydd cysylltiedig, marchnadoedd da byw ac arwerthiannau heb drwydded gymeradwy ac yn erbyn cyngor ei filfeddyg APHA.

Wrth wneud hynny, roedd yn torri Gorchymyn Twbercwlosis (TB) (Cymru) a allai fod wedi rhoi, nid yn unig gwartheg ei fferm mewn perygl o TB, ond holl ffermydd eraill Sir Gaerfyrddin a Cheredigion sy’n glir o TB.

Dywedodd swyddogion iechyd anifeiliaid y Cyngor nad oedd Mr Law chwaith wedi adrodd am symudiadau ei wartheg na marwolaethau ei wartheg o fewn yr amser adrodd sy’n ofynnol gan Reoliadau Adnabod Gwartheg (Cymru).

Dylid rhoi gwybod am symudiadau oddi ar y tir o fewn tri diwrnod ar ôl y symudiad, ond roedd cyfnod adrodd Law yn amrywio o un diwrnod i 21 diwrnod.

Dylid adrodd am symudiadau ar y tir o fewn tri diwrnod o’r symudiad ond roedd cyfnod adrodd Law yn amrywio o ddeuddydd i 25 diwrnod.

Dylid adrodd am farwolaethau o fewn saith diwrnod, ond roedd cyfnod adrodd Law yn amrywio o un diwrnod i 143 diwrnod.

Cafodd yr achos ei chlywed  yn Llys Ynadon Llanelli ar 20 Gorffennaf, 2018.

Wrth liniaru, dywedodd Law ei fod wedi ceisio cysylltu â milfeddyg APHA i drefnu trwydded symud ond ei fod wedi wynebu ‘wal gerrig’ o ran hynny a dangosodd lythyrau gan ei filfeddyg ei hun fel tystiolaeth.

Wrth ddedfrydu gofynnodd y Cadeirydd i’r pryderon a godwyd yn yr achos gael eu bwydo’n ôl i’r APHA.

Dywedodd y Cynghorydd Philip Hughes, yr Aelod o Fwrdd Gweithredol Cyngor Sir Caerfyrddin dros Ddiogelu:  “Ni fyddwn yn oedi cyn cymryd camau yn erbyn pobl sy’n dewis torri’r cyfreithiau a gynlluniwyd i ddiogelu masnach amaethyddol onest a bioddiogelwch. Mae’r ffermwr hwn wedi gweithredu’n anghyfrifol, nid yn unig o ran ei wartheg ei hun, ond o ran ffermydd eraill ledled y rhanbarth.”