National Audit Office: Significant amount of farm animal carcasses not being processed

Toomas Mattson | 10/23/2007 | 12:00 AM

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TALLINN, 23 October 2007 - According to the National Audit Office, 12% of cattle, 65% of sheep and 60% of goat carcasses failed to be processed in the required manner in 2006. The situation is particularly bad in Hiiumaa, where 72% of dead cattle were not disposed of in the proper way.

An audit has revealed that although the basic conditions for the processing of animal by-products have been created, the state has not paid adequate attention to the further development of the waste management system or to checks on its operations.
The National Audit Office found that the animal waste management system is not sustainable and does not take the needs of the final processing of animal waste into account. While the state has spent around 100 million kroons on the construction of an animal waste management factory, it does not provide means for the destruction of hazardous processing waste (meat and bone meal and technical fat). The factory is also already at full capacity, and should the volume of waste increase or the factory experience an accident or fault, Estonia will be unable to dispose of its animal waste safely.

From the results of the audit, the National Audit Office must draw attention to the fact that the state does not know how much animal waste is produced in the country or how much of this waste is processed. The audit also revealed shortcomings in the supervision of the requirements of animal waste management.

The Minister of Agriculture agreed with the conclusions and recommendations made in the audit.

The National Audit Office carried out its audit of the organisation of animal waste management in order to assess whether the processing of dead farm animals and animal by-products is effective, ensuring that such waste is rendered harmless in the required manner.

Background information

As animal waste is the main source of the spread of infectious animal diseases, processing it in ways that do not meet requirements may lead to widespread outbreaks of illness. In order to prevent the dissemination of diseases and damage to the environment, strict requirements are in force throughout the European Union for the processing of animal waste which are designed to ensure that such waste is rendered harmless in the necessary manner.

In the event of a breach of animal waste management requirements, the European Union may significantly restrict the export of Estonian meat and dairy products, which in turn may lead to producers losing as much as 1.9 billion kroons in profit per year.

Toomas Mattson
Communication Manager of National Audit Office
Telephone: 6400 777
Mob: 51 34900
E-mail: [email protected]

  • Posted: 10/23/2007 12:00 AM
  • Last Update: 9/15/2015 12:51 PM
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