Cattle dealers look set to boycott marts from early next week in a row over regulations brought in during the foot-and-mouth crisis. The regulations force them to hold on to animals they buy at marts for 30 days.
A meeting of the Livestock Producers and Suppliers Association (LPSA) in Portlaoise, which began late last night, was expected to endorse a call to stop trading in marts because of the regulations. Last Friday the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, rejected a request to amend the rule, which was put to him by the Irish Farmers Association president, Mr John Dillon, earlier in the week.
Mr Dillon had persuaded the dealers to call off a proposed boycott of the marts, which should have begun last Monday week.
A spokesman for the LPSA said dealers were now left with no option but to "pull the plug" because of the refusal of the Minister to meet any of the organisation's demands.
"Most of us cannot operate under the current rules because to keep an animal for 30 days costs a great deal of money," he said. He said dealers and others who purchased animals outside of the mart system were not affected by the rule and this meant an uneven playing pitch for registered dealers.
However, a spokesman for the Minister said the 30-day rule had been retained to prevent the spread of disease.