Penrith fallen stock collection covers some of the most varied livestock country in the North West, from lowland suckler herds on the Eden Valley floor to hefted ewes on the commons above Ullswater and the high ground of Alston Moor. Martlands is a family-run, DEFRA approved collector based in Burscough, Lancashire, and our fallen stock and ABP collection service reaches farms around Penrith via the M6 and the A66.
When an animal dies, farmers have a duty of care to arrange collection promptly, ideally within 24 hours of discovery. On farms where the nearest tarmac can be a mile from the fell gate, that takes a little planning, and this guide covers what Eden farmers need to know.
Penrith Fallen Stock Collection for the Eden Valley
Penrith sits at a crossroads. Junction 40 of the M6 lies on the edge of the town, the A66 runs west towards Keswick and east over Stainmore, and the A6 climbs south over Shap towards Kendal. Those routes are how our vehicles reach Eden farms, and they are the same routes that close or slow down when winter weather arrives. Our farm and fallen stock collection service is available same day, and every collection is supported by a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Note, issued under our Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002. The official guidance on fallen stock and safe disposal of dead animals sets out the legal duties in full.
A Mart Town With a Mixed Farming Hinterland
Penrith’s identity has long been tied to its auction mart, which brings in store cattle, breeding sheep and prime stock from across Cumbria and beyond. The farms that feed it are mixed. On the better land around Great Salkeld, Langwathby and Temple Sowerby you find suckler herds, beef finishing units and some dairy. Further east, towards Lazonby and Kirkoswald, the valley narrows towards the Pennine escarpment and sheep numbers rise. To the south and west, Shap and the Ullswater valleys are dominated by fell flocks of Swaledale and Rough Fell ewes. Each of these systems loses stock in different ways and at different times of year, so collection needs to be flexible rather than one size fits all.
Farms on the eastern side of the valley are also covered by our Appleby fallen stock collection, and those to the north by our Carlisle fallen stock collection.
Fell Flocks, Hefted Ewes and Common Grazing
Hefted flocks on unfenced common land present a specific challenge. A ewe that dies on the open fell above Martindale, Matterdale or Shap Fells may not be found for a day or two, and by then she may be some distance from any vehicle access. Graziers usually bring carcasses down by quad or trailer to an agreed point near the farmstead or the fell gate, and that is the sensible place to arrange collection. Agree that point in advance with your neighbours if you share a common, so carcasses from different flocks are not left at the roadside unidentified. The government also publishes detailed guidance on animal by-product categories and disposal.
Older ewes, those over 12 months or with a permanent incisor erupted, contain specified risk material and are Category 1. Lambs younger than that are generally Category 2. Your Commercial Document will record what was collected, which matters both for your own records and for any assurance scheme inspection. Our Category 1 ABP collection covers adult sheep and older cattle.
Suckler Beef, Cattle Records and BSE Testing
For Eden Valley cattle farmers, the paperwork after a death is as important as the collection itself. Deaths must be reported to BCMS within 7 days and the passport returned. Fallen cattle over 48 months must be BSE tested, and as a DEFRA approved sampling facility Martlands can arrange this as part of the collection, so you do not need a separate visit. Cattle over 12 months are Category 1 because of SRM, while younger calves are generally handled through our Category 2 ABP collection.
Winter on Shap and the A66 – Planning Collection Access
Anyone farming around Penrith knows how quickly conditions change. The M6 summit at Shap is over 1,000 feet and the old A6 road over Shap climbs higher still, the A66 over Stainmore is notorious for high winds and closures, and the A686 over Hartside towards Alston can be impassable in snow. Fell farms at the head of Ullswater or on Alston Moor may be cut off by drifting on their own lanes long after the main roads are clear.
A few practical steps help. Make sure the collection point is somewhere a vehicle can reach and turn in poor weather, ideally on hard standing near the road rather than at the bottom of a steep or soft track. Keep gateways clear of parked machinery. When snow is forecast, report losses as early in the day as possible. And if access is genuinely impossible, store carcasses securely, covered and away from watercourses until a collection can be made. Our guide to upland and remote farm fallen stock collection covers this in more detail.
Why On-Farm Burial Is Not an Option
Burial and burning of fallen stock on farm have been banned since 2003. The very limited derogations that exist apply only to genuinely remote areas defined in law, not to an awkward field or a snowed-in lane. In the Eden Valley, where the river and its tributaries drain much of the farmland, the risk to watercourses from buried carcasses is exactly what the ban is designed to prevent. Martlands is a member of NFSCO, the National Fallen Stock Company, the national scheme through which many livestock farmers organise their fallen stock arrangements.
Biosecurity, Penrith Fallen Stock Collection and Shared Grazing
Livestock in the Penrith area move a great deal, between farms, to and from the mart, and on and off common land. That movement is why fallen stock handling matters for disease control. Keep collection points away from feed stores, water troughs and routes used by other stock. If you suspect a notifiable disease, report it to APHA immediately and do not move the carcass until you are told what to do. For wider coverage across the county, see our Cumbria fallen stock collection page, and for farms south over Shap, our Kendal fallen stock collection.
To arrange a collection anywhere around Penrith, the Eden Valley or the surrounding fells, call Martlands on 01704 776977.
