DUP's Ian Paisley welcomes British Veterinary Association call to stop 'crippling' EU regulations in NI

EU regulations are due to change in 2025 – meaning Europe won’t allow a large number of veterinary medicines into the Northern Ireland market.

The BVA said they want a permanent resolution to the issue – and have called for “continued engagement between the UK government and the European Commission to find a permanent solution to safeguard the future supply of veterinary medicines beyond 2025”.

Mr Paisley said: “The BVA has published its 2024 top five manifesto priority list and makes access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland beyond 2025, number two.

“This call complements the work our DUP negotiating team has already been undertaking. We have repeatedly pressed the UK government and Brussels to not just talk about the issue but finally agree a permanent solution.

“Losing access to key veterinary medicines could cripple our agri-food sector. Indeed, the BVA significantly argue that losing access to the sole vaccine for poultry against salmonella could create a ‘serious public health emergency’.”

The BVA said: “Northern Ireland is expected to lose access to a significant percentage of veterinary medicines at the end of 2025 due to the changes required by EU regulations. These include the only licensed salmonella vaccine for poultry, the loss of which could represent a serious public health emergency.

“Without a permanent resolution, 51% (more than 1,700 products) of our veterinary medicine portfolio could be discontinued in the Northern Ireland marketplace. This could lead to dire consequences for consumers, farmers and their livestock but also for companion animals such as cats, dogs and horses. If unresolved animal health and control of disease will be severely impacted.”

From December 31 2025, the so-called ‘grace period’ for veterinary medicines ends. Unless agreement is reached, the UK must ensure that supplies of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland conform with EU law and provisions under the Windsor Framework.

The supply of veterinary medicines to NI is currently the subject of a parliamentary inquiry.

The situation was brought about by the Northern Ireland Protocol – but not resolved as part of the Windsor Framework deal.

A UK government spokesperson told the News Letter: “We are continuing to engage extensively with industry and we will pursue a permanent solution to maintain access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland, beyond the 2025 grace period as set out in our command paper.”