FARMERS lobbied Government chief vets last week in their campaign to have the 20-day standstill restriction on livestock lifted.

Delegations from Northumberland and Durham visited the animal health offices at Kenton Bar, Newcastle, on Friday while others from Yorkshire went to the Lawnswood offices, Leeds.

At Newcastle, the delegation met Alan Mcphee, divisional chief vet, to explain the problems the standstill caused them and the rest of the industry.

They delivered a letter explaining the steps taken by the livestock industry to reduce disease risk. It also spelt out the impact the animal movement rgime was having more than 15 months after the end of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Stoker Frater, Northumberland County NFU chairman, said their aim was to highlight the disproportionate restrictions still imposed.

He said that, since foot-and-mouth struck in 2001, the industry had adopted rigid biosecurity controls at livestock market; vehicle cleansing and disinfection rules; general licensing of livestock movements; recording sheep movements and a ban on swill feeding.

"But we believe any movement controls must be proportionate to risk and compatible with trading conditions," he said. "Crucially, they must be easily understood and supported by producers and be capable of being effectively enforced.

"If we embrace the measures adopted by the industry since February 2001 and build on the principles of biosecurity, there is absolutely no need for a whole farm standstill - of any length."

Mr Frater, who farms cattle and sheep near Alnwick, also pointed out that the restrictions had imposed additional expense on the auction marts because they now had to hold separate slaughter markets. This disadvantaged farmers as well, he said.

Gordon Meek, a prominent Northumberland farmer, said the standstill had affected everyone, especially farmers trying to sell suckler cows or trying to buy in draft ewes.

There was evidence that people had held off buying suckler cows because they did not want to be locked in by the restrictions.

Ideally, the 20-day rule should be lifted or dramatically reduced but, Mr Meek said, they would be happy to look at a system where new animals entering the farm could be segregated without existing stock being affected.