When a farmer in the Ribble Valley loses a cow overnight, or a sheep farmer on the upland pastures above Burnley discovers a ewe dead at first light, the clock starts immediately. Under the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013, there is a legal duty of care to ensure fallen stock is collected within 24 hours of discovery. That obligation does not pause for bad weather, blocked lanes, or a contractor who covers too wide a territory to respond the same day. Martlands provides fallen stock and ABP collection from its base in Coppull, Lancashire, positioned to reach farms across Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, and North Wales with the kind of response time that genuinely meets that 24-hour duty of care.
The Legal Framework That Makes Licensed Collection Non-Negotiable
On-farm burial and burning of livestock has been illegal in the UK since 2003, with only very limited exceptions for remote locations. This is not a technicality that enforcement agencies overlook. The Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013 place the responsibility squarely on the keeper, and the consequences of non-compliance range from formal warning through to prosecution. For farms operating under the Red Tractor scheme or subject to DEFRA audit, the documentation trail around fallen stock disposal is examined directly. A farm and fallen stock collection provider must be licensed, must issue the correct paperwork on every visit, and must be able to demonstrate traceability from collection through to processing.
Martlands holds Animal By-Products Licence No APB/CCN21/373/8002 and is a DEFRA approved processing and sampling facility. Every collection generates a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Note. These are not administrative niceties. They are the documentary evidence a farmer needs during a Red Tractor inspection or a DEFRA compliance review. Without them, the farmer cannot demonstrate that fallen stock was handled lawfully, regardless of how reputable the contractor appeared at the time of collection.
BSE Testing and Why the Sampling Facility Status Matters
Cattle over 48 months of age that die on farm are subject to mandatory BSE testing requirements. This creates a specific procedural step that not every fallen stock contractor is equipped to handle. Martlands operates as a DEFRA approved sampling centre, which means BSE testing for fallen cattle can be carried out as part of the collection and processing workflow rather than requiring a separate arrangement with a third party. For dairy and beef farmers in Lancashire fallen stock collection areas, or on the cattle farms around the Cheshire Plain, this matters practically. It removes a coordination burden from the farmer and ensures the testing requirement is met within the same licensed framework as the collection itself.
Understanding ABP Categories and Why the Distinction Affects Your Farm
Not all fallen stock is classified the same way under the ABP regulatory framework, and the category assigned to a carcass determines how it must be stored before collection, how it is transported, and how it is processed. Fallen livestock that has not entered the food chain is typically classified as Category 2 material. Category 2 ABP collection applies to carcasses where there is no suspicion of a notifiable disease and no BSE testing trigger. Where there is a BSE risk or other specified risk material is involved, the material may be reclassified upward. Martlands holds licences across all three ABP categories, including Category 1 ABP collection for the highest-risk materials, which is a licensing level many smaller regional operators do not hold.
For farms that also generate catering or processing waste, or for abattoirs and butcheries in the service area, Category 3 ABP collection covers lower-risk materials including food-grade trimmings that have not entered the human food chain due to commercial reasons rather than health concerns. Having a single licensed contractor who can manage all three categories under one Commercial Document and one Waste Transfer Note reduces the administrative complexity significantly and removes the risk of materials being incorrectly classified by an unlicensed or partially licensed operator.
Geographic Response – What Same-Day Collection Actually Requires
The M6, M61, and M58 corridors place Martlands within practical same-day reach of the majority of its service area. Farms in the Ribble Valley, the Forest of Bowland, the Fylde coast, the upland areas above Kendal, and the Cheshire market town hinterland around Nantwich and Macclesfield are all within the operational geography that makes same-day fallen stock collection a realistic commitment rather than a marketing claim. For Cumbria fallen stock collection, where farms are more dispersed and upland access can be difficult in winter, the response planning has to account for road conditions and farm access in a way that a contractor based further south cannot replicate reliably.
Martlands uses the KoLeCt system for collection booking and management. This means collections are logged, tracked, and documented through a regulated system rather than relying on informal arrangements. For farmers who need to demonstrate to their farm assurance scheme that collections have been booked, attended, and documented in a timely manner, KoLeCt provides the digital audit trail that supports that evidence.
NFSCO Membership and What It Means for Farmers
Martlands is a member of NFSCO, the National Fallen Stock Company. NFSCO membership connects farmers with licensed collectors through a regulated scheme that provides an additional layer of accountability for both parties. For farmers who are members of NFSCO, using a NFSCO-registered collector like Martlands means the collection sits within a framework that is independently overseen, rather than relying entirely on the farmer’s own assessment of whether a contractor is compliant. The who is NFSCO guide on the Martlands website explains how the scheme operates and what it means in practical terms for farmers arranging regular or emergency collections.
For farms in Cheshire fallen stock collection areas or across Greater Manchester fallen stock collection areas, NFSCO membership provides reassurance that Martlands operates within a nationally recognised compliance framework, not just as an independently licensed contractor. This distinction matters when farm assurance auditors or DEFRA inspectors ask how fallen stock is being managed.
Preparing for a DEFRA Audit or Red Tractor Inspection
The most common compliance gap identified during farm inspections relating to fallen stock is not that the farmer used an unlicensed contractor, but that the paperwork from a legitimate collection was not retained correctly. Commercial Documents must be kept for specific periods under ABP regulations. Waste Transfer Notes serve a parallel function under waste carrier legislation. Martlands provides both on every collection, and the KoLeCt system creates a digital record that can be referenced in the event of a gap in physical records. Farmers who want to understand what documentation they need to retain, and for how long, should read the legal collection and disposal of fallen stock guidance before their next inspection cycle.
For farms across Merseyside fallen stock collection areas and throughout North Wales, where agricultural inspections increasingly cross-reference livestock movement records with ABP collection documentation, having a consistent and properly documented collection arrangement with a single licensed contractor reduces the risk of unexplained gaps in the audit trail significantly.
Arranging Your Next Collection
Whether you need to arrange a same-day collection following an unexpected livestock death, set up a regular scheduled arrangement for a larger operation, or discuss how Martlands can support your compliance documentation ahead of an upcoming inspection, call the team on 01704 776977. You can also find further information through the contact us page. Martlands holds Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Site Licence EAWML/100236, alongside the full ABP licence portfolio, and can provide the Commercial Documents and Waste Transfer Notes your farm needs to remain fully compliant under UK ABP regulations.
