On-farm incidents

On-farm incidents are a result of poisoning or high levels of residual chemicals in farm animals destined for the food chain.

On-farm incidents are a result of poisoning or high levels of residual chemicals in farm animals destined for the food chain.

Causes for on-farm incidents can include:

  • lead poisoning
  • copper poisoning 
  • consumption of ragwort and bracken 
  • rodenticides
  • botulism

We have created this short film to help raise awareness about on-farm incidents and how they can be prevented. 

On-farm incident figures over the past five calendar years
Type of incident 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Lead 4 3 10 0 5
Copper 0 4 1 2 1
Botulism 1 0 0 1 0
Other 2 0 0 0 0
Total 7 7 11 3 6

Since 2018 more than half of on-farm incidents reported to our Scottish Food Crime and Incident Unit (SFCIU) were caused by lead poisoning. These incidents can impact the health of the animals and put consumers at risk if the animals are not subject to an adequate withdrawal period before being permitted to enter the food chain. 


Sources and symptoms of lead poisoning

Sources of lead poisoning include lead batteries, flaking lead paint, fly tipping, bonfire ash, burnt out cars and geochemical sources such as old mine workings.

Symptoms of lead poisoning in animals include blindness, grinding teeth, bobbing head, twitching eyes/ears, frothing at mouth, muscle tremors, staggering, excitability and convulsions. Death usually occurs shortly after an animal begins to show symptoms of lead poisoning. 

“Losing one of my cattle in such a way has been a nightmare and resulted in significant financial costs. The battery that was found was very old and only a small part was sticking out from the ground. Luckily I found it.” - Grant Jolly, Farmer

Lead poisoning incidents commonly happen in the spring when cattle are put out to pasture. Young cattle are more susceptible due to their inquisitive nature. 

We have developed a leaflet focused on lead poisoning in response to the consistently high numbers of lead on-farm incidents. It is aimed at farmers and is designed to raise awareness to help prevent these incidents and to mitigate risk to consumers.

On-farm incidents leaflet cover reading 'How to protect your livestock and Scotland's food chain' with FSS logo and photo of a cow in background


Copper on-farm incidents 

Sheep are very sensitive to copper, although different breeds respond to it differently. Some breeds are very prone to copper poisoning, and copper should only be supplemented in these breeds with extreme care. These breeds include Texel, Suffolk, North Ronaldsay and some continental breeds.

Signs of copper poisoning include weakness, aimless wandering, and head-pressing followed by yellowing of the gums, eyes and/or skin (jaundice).
Treatment options for copper poisoning are limited, and there is a very low likelihood of recovery of affected animals. However, the important thing is to identify the problem so that it can be addressed to prevent future cases.

The most common cause of this is sheep being fed concentrates or minerals that were designed for cattle, as these will contain too much copper for sheep. However, some other feeds can have high copper levels, such as forage from land that has had large amounts of pig or poultry manure as fertiliser.

There have also been several cases of copper toxicity in sheep associated with spreading distillery by-product on pasture. Farmers are typically advised to remove animals from pasture for a period of three weeks to allow the soil to absorb the product. 


Botulism

Botulism is a paralysing disease which kills most affected animals. It is caused by a highly lethal toxin which is produced by Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium found in soil, which multiplies in rotting vegetation or carcases.

In UK ruminants, botulism is often caused by animals coming into contact with a litter of broiler chickens especially if it contains any carcass material. There are also more sporadic but large outbreaks due to feeding forage that has been contaminated with carcass material, including carcasses that have been ensiled during grass cutting. If there are outbreaks of diseases in wildlife on a farm, for example myxomatosis in rabbits, the risk of botulism in livestock may be increased because dead wildlife carcasses may be present in the grass fields that are to be cut for silage. There is also a risk if game shoots leave carcasses behind on farms.

Read more about Botulism in farmed ruminants in the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) fact sheet.


Other types of on-farm incidents

Other types of on farm incidents are less common but can include rodenticides, ragwort, ergot, cadmium, arsenic or malicious contamination.


Our actions in response to on-farm incidents

We have implemented awareness programs aimed at farmers to help prevent these incidents from occurring. This can help protect animals from lead poisoning and also consumers. 

Prevention measures included:

We will continue to raise awareness of this issue to help support farmers and help protect Scotland's food chain.

More on this topic

Guidance

On-farm incidents: How to protect your livestock and Scotland’s food chain

Protecting your livestock and Scotland's food chain.