For livestock keepers, smallholders and equine owners across the Wirral, Leasowe fallen stock collection is a service that has to be dependable, fully licensed and ready to respond at short notice. Martlands is a family-run, DEFRA approved fallen stock and animal by-products business based in Burscough, Lancashire, and our fallen stock and ABP collection operation covers the whole of the Wirral peninsula, taking in Leasowe, Moreton and the grazing land that runs along the north Wirral coast. When an animal dies on your holding the law expects it to be dealt with promptly and correctly, and that is precisely what our local collection service is built around.
Why Leasowe livestock keepers need a licensed fallen stock collector
Leasowe sits on the northern edge of the Wirral, between the coast and the open ground of Leasowe Common and Bidston Moss, and the holdings here are a mix of smallholdings, grazing paddocks and equestrian yards rather than large commercial farms. That does not change the legal position one bit. Anyone keeping cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, alpacas or poultry has a personal duty of care for what happens to an animal once it has died, and that duty does not pass to anyone else until a licensed collector has taken the carcass away and given you the paperwork to prove it.
The legal position on fallen stock in Leasowe
On-farm burial and burning of livestock has been illegal across the United Kingdom since 2003, with only very limited exemptions for genuinely remote areas, none of which apply to the Wirral. Under the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013, fallen stock must be collected, identified and transported without undue delay, and in practice that means arranging removal within twenty-four hours of discovery. Burying a carcass in a field corner, leaving it for the foxes or taking it to the wrong place is not a grey area; it is an offence that can bring a fine, an Animal and Plant Health Agency investigation and a real biosecurity risk to neighbouring stock. Using a properly licensed collector takes that risk away entirely.
What counts as fallen stock on a Wirral holding
Fallen stock means any farmed animal that has died on your premises, whether from illness, injury, calving or lambing complications, or old age, as well as any animal humanely destroyed on welfare grounds. On the smallholdings and livery yards around Leasowe that most often means a horse or pony, a few sheep, the occasional beef animal or a backyard flock, but the rules are identical whatever the species and whatever the number. Martlands is licensed to collect and handle all three animal by-product categories, so a single phone call covers everything from a fallen ewe to a euthanised horse, and you never have to work out which operator handles which type of animal.
Same-day collection across Leasowe and the north Wirral
Speed matters with fallen stock, both for compliance and for simple practicality, because a carcass left out in warm weather quickly becomes a welfare, hygiene and odour problem as well as a magnet for vermin. Our collection fleet works the Wirral regularly, and the peninsula is well served by the M53, which links Leasowe and the north Wirral down through Bromborough and across to Chester and our Lancashire base. That road network is what allows us to keep to a same-day response for fallen stock in most cases, rather than leaving you waiting days for a collector to pass through. Bookings are logged and tracked on the KoLeCt system, so each collection is recorded properly from the moment you call.
BSE testing and DEFRA approved sampling
Where fallen cattle over forty-eight months of age are concerned, there is an additional legal step. These animals must be sampled for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, the family of conditions that includes BSE, before the carcass can be processed. Martlands operates as a DEFRA approved sampling centre, which means the brain stem sample required for TSE surveillance is taken under approved conditions as part of our normal collection process. For a Wirral keeper with an older cow or bull, that removes a complication that would otherwise mean involving a separate sampling site; we handle the collection and the sampling together, correctly and without fuss.
The paperwork that protects you
Every collection we make is accompanied by a Commercial Document and, where relevant, a Waste Transfer Note. This is not box-ticking. That documentation is your evidence that the animal left your holding through a licensed route, and it is exactly what a Red Tractor assessor, a local authority officer or an APHA inspector will want to see if your records are ever checked. The same paperwork supports ISO 14001 environmental reporting and sustainability records for keepers who need it. Martlands is a member of the National Fallen Stock Company, and our Waste Carrier Licence, Site Licence and Animal By-Products Licence are all in place and provided on request, so you can be confident the chain of disposal stands up to scrutiny.
Fallen stock collection across the wider Wirral
Leasowe is one of many communities we cover on the peninsula, and we run the same licensed, DEFRA approved service right across the area. We collect throughout the Wirral and operate dedicated local pages for nearby areas including Greasby fallen stock collection, Prenton fallen stock collection, Pensby fallen stock collection, Birkenhead fallen stock collection and Heswall fallen stock collection. If you would like an overview of how we serve the whole peninsula, our Wirral fallen stock collection service page sets it out in full, and our farm and fallen stock collection service explains the process from booking to disposal.
Arrange collection in Leasowe today
If you need a fallen animal removed from a holding in or around Leasowe, the simplest and safest course is to use a licensed collector who can act the same day and give you the paperwork to prove it. To understand more about the rules behind the service it is worth reading our guidance on the ban on burying or burning fallen stock and on BSE testing of fallen cattle. When you are ready to book, call Martlands on 01704 776977 or visit our contact us page for a prompt response and a tailored quote.
