Ormskirk fallen stock collection is about as local as it gets for Martlands. Our yard in Burscough sits a few miles up the A59 from Ormskirk town centre, so when a cow, ewe, pig or horse dies on a holding in Aughton, Halsall, Lathom, Westhead or Bickerstaffe, the vehicle that comes for it is setting off from just down the road. As a family-run, DEFRA approved business offering fallen stock and ABP collection across the North West, we know these lanes, these farmyards and the ground they sit on.
This guide explains what the law expects of West Lancashire livestock keepers when an animal dies, why the mossland around Ormskirk makes burial a non-starter even before you consider the legislation, and how to get a carcass collected quickly and with the right paperwork.
Ormskirk fallen stock collection across the West Lancashire plain
The countryside around Ormskirk is not the classic image of a livestock district. Much of the flat, black land between Halsall, Scarisbrick and Burscough is in vegetables, cereals and potatoes, and plenty of holdings are mixed rather than purely stock farms. That mix is exactly why fallen stock arrangements catch people out. A grower with a few dozen store cattle on grass leys over winter, a smallholder in Westhead with sheep and pigs, a livery yard off the A570 near Bickerstaffe, or a beef finisher near Lathom may only lose an animal once or twice a year, and nobody has the routine worked out when it happens. The official guidance on fallen stock and safe disposal of dead animals sets out the legal duties in full.
Our farm and fallen stock collection service is built for that reality. Whether you run a herd or keep two pet sheep on a paddock in Aughton, the legal duty is the same and the collection works the same way.
Why burial is illegal and impractical on mossland soils
Burying or burning fallen stock on farm has been banned in England since 2003, with only very limited derogations for genuinely remote areas, and nowhere near Ormskirk qualifies. Even if it were legal, the ground would argue against it. The former mosses around Halsall and Downholland and the low land towards Burscough sit on peat and silty soils with a high water table, held in check by a network of field drains, open ditches and pumped outfalls. Dig a pit for a carcass in winter and it fills with water. Anything that leaches from a decomposing animal goes straight into the drainage system and on towards the watercourses and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal corridor.
The ban exists to protect groundwater and to stop disease being spread by scavengers, flies and run-off, and the practical point for Ormskirk keepers is simple. Every carcass needs to go to an approved premises, and arranging that is your responsibility as the keeper.
What category your fallen animal falls into
Fallen stock is classed as an animal by-product, and the category decides how it has to be handled. Cattle over 12 months, and sheep or goats over 12 months or with a permanent incisor erupted, contain specified risk material, so the whole carcass is treated as Category 1. That is our Category 1 ABP collection route, and it applies to most adult cattle, ewes and tups lost on West Lancashire farms. The government also publishes detailed guidance on animal by-product categories and disposal.
Younger ruminants, pigs, poultry and horses are generally Category 2, handled through our Category 2 ABP collection service. Where categories are mixed in one load, the whole consignment is treated as the highest-risk category present, which is why it pays to tell us exactly what we are collecting when you book.
Fallen cattle over 48 months must also be BSE tested. Martlands is a DEFRA approved processing and sampling facility, so older cows from dairy and suckler units around Ormskirk can be collected and sampled in one movement rather than being sent somewhere else first.
Your duties when an animal dies
The legal expectation is that fallen stock is collected without undue delay. Our standing advice is that keepers have a duty of care to arrange collection promptly, ideally within 24 hours of discovery. In the meantime, move the carcass to a hard-standing area away from watercourses, ditches and drains, keep it away from other stock, dogs and foxes, and cover it if you can.
For cattle there is extra paperwork. The death must be reported to BCMS within 7 days and the passport returned. For sheep and goats, record the death and tag number in your holding register. If anything about the death worries you, such as sudden losses of several animals, unexplained bleeding or neurological signs, speak to your vet straight away. Suspected notifiable disease must be reported to APHA immediately, and the carcass must not be moved until you have been told it can be.
How collection works from our Burscough base
Because we are so close, same-day collection is available for fallen stock across Ormskirk and the surrounding parishes. Bookings are managed through the KoLeCt system, which keeps a clear record of each job. Access is usually straightforward from the A59, the A570 or the M58 junctions near Westhead and Bickerstaffe, but some yards are reached down narrow moss lanes with soft verges, deep ditches and low bridges over drains. Tell us about gates, weight limits or soft ground when you call and we will plan around them.
Every collection comes with a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Notice. Martlands holds Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT, Site Licence EAWML/100236 and Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002, and we are members of the National Fallen Stock Company. Keep the paperwork with your farm records, because assurance inspectors and APHA will expect to see a clear trail for every carcass that left the holding.
Smallholders, equestrian yards and pet livestock
A large share of calls from the Ormskirk area come from people who do not think of themselves as farmers. Owners of a few sheep, alpacas, goats or pigs on a paddock in Aughton or Lathom have exactly the same legal duties as a commercial farm, and the same ban on burial applies. Horses are a common example. A horse that dies at a livery yard is fallen stock, and the yard owner and horse owner should agree in advance who will make the call, so there is no delay when it matters.
Neighbouring areas we cover
Martlands works across the whole of West Lancashire and beyond. Holdings to the west on the moss towards the coast are covered by our Scarisbrick fallen stock collection service, while farms on the edge of the new town and up towards Dalton and Up Holland come under Skelmersdale fallen stock collection. North of Burscough, across the market garden country around Hesketh Bank and Mere Brow, we provide Tarleton fallen stock collection, and our wider Lancashire fallen stock collection page covers the rest of the county.
Arranging Ormskirk fallen stock collection
If you have lost an animal, or want to set up an account before you need one, call Martlands on 01704 776977. Tell us the species, approximate age, number of carcasses and how to reach the yard, and we will arrange collection from just up the road. If you would rather get in touch in writing, use our contact us page and the team will come back to you.
