Having met the European Commission (EC) negotiating team in Brussels on 1 December, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has welcomed the extension to the grace period for veterinary medicines, 31 December 2025.
UFU president David Brown said, “With 31 December 2022 only weeks away, it is a huge relief for Northern Ireland’s (NI) agriculture industry and pet owners, that a three yearlong extension to the grace period for veterinary medicines has been granted, albeit for a final time. The UFU has been working relentlessly, lobbying the EC negotiating team at the highest level and the national press, to raise the profile of the situation and achieve a solution while concern continued to grow among farmers and all animal owners in NI. Credit must also go to Northern Ireland Veterinary Association for their efforts in helping to address this issue. However, it is important to stress this is a temporary fix not a solution.”
While the grace period is now extended for an additional three years, the key issue remains the same. At the end of the latest extension, all veterinary products used in the EU, including NI, must be licensed in the EU. The availability and cost of a large range of everyday veterinary medicines would be affected including anthelmintics, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamins and vaccines.
“UFU efforts will continue and will focus on achieving a permanent solution to ensure the continued supply of the veterinary medicine portfolio, half of which had been hanging in the balance until this extension was announced. The implications of achieving anything less will be hugely damaging for animal health and welfare in NI, and local food production at a time when we need to be sustaining and developing food security to meet the rising demand for food. Although the full detail of the extension is not yet known, the UFU will keep working on the matter, with the aim of securing a permanent solution.”
