A mother and her lamb survive the recent heavy snow blizzard in the Sperrin Mountains

THE grim removal of thousands of animal carcasses from areas worst hit by the recent snow storms starts on Tuesday.

Carcasses will be collected by firms approved by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

The collection deadline of April 15 may be extended depending on the speed of the thaw, the department has advised.

Counties Antrim and Down were worst affected with snow drifts of up to 18ft in some areas after gale force winds and heavy snow fell almost two weeks ago.

Farmers in areas eligible for the collection service are to contact the Rendering Plants ‘Linergy Dungannon’ on 028 8772 5020 or ‘Foyle Proteins’ on 028 7186 1120 to arrange removal of the carcasses.

At present, the following postcode areas are eligible for collection – BT25, BT31, BT33, BT34, BT35, BT36, BT40, BT43, BT44, BT54. However, the list is subject to change and farmers should check DARD’s website.

“Farmers should NOT contact DARD to arrange collection of fallen stock,” a statement from the department said.

“Farmers should move fallen stock to a point on the farm which has hard standing (concrete or tarmac) and which the collecting vehicle will be able to access (central yard, end of farm lane, etc),” the department advised.

A number of carcasses may be moved to this point, and all carcasses must be covered with a tarpaulin or similar so that it is not possible for dogs / foxes / birds to access them until they are collected, the statement continued.

Carcasses must be held securely in this way until removal.

“DARD will verify the losses of animals by supervising collections of animals. Animals collected without verification by DARD staff will not be eligible,” the statement continued.

Meanwhile, the public is being advised not to approach or touch the dead animals.

“Do not allow other animals (ie pet dogs) to approach or touch the dead animals,” it was also advised.

Anyone who finds a dead animal should contact the DARD helpline on 0300 200 7852 with details of the dead animal – the species, number of animals and location