Staffordshire farmer fined for illegal TB cattle move

Mark Pickford, from Kniveden Farm, admitted a number of offences

A farmer has been ordered to pay more than £34,000 after breaking restrictions around moving cattle to stop the spread of bovine TB.

Mark Pickford, 54, of Kniveden Farm, Leek, was charged with moving the animals between March 2014 and May 2015.

He pleaded guilty to five offences under Cattle Identification Regulations and two under Tuberculosis Order 200.

He was fined £14,332 at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday.

The farmer was also ordered to pay £20,000 in legal costs.

Staffordshire County Council said Pickford moved the animals while they were infected with the disease and failed to register the deaths of 197 cattle.

He had also given incorrect information while applying for 14 cattle passports between July 2010 and June 2014 and used an identification tag which had already been used on another animal.

• Latest news and updates from the West Midlands

The court heard bovine TB was first detected on the farm in December 2009 and a notice restricting cattle movements on and off the premises was issued.

Cattle were only allowed to be moved if licences were granted for individual animals.

A further notice was issued in 2011. While a number of movement licences were applied for, no further applications were made after October 2013.

Staffordshire County Council leader, Philip Atkins, said: "This keeper's blatant disregard of any attempt to control this disease which is having a devastating impact on the farming community.

"His actions are likely to have contributed to the duration and magnitude of this TB breakdown at a significant cost to the taxpayer.

"In addition, he increased risks to other livestock keepers and wildlife by ignoring important TB controls."