A Scottish farm business has flown a flock of Suffolk sheep to a buyer in Georgia in eastern Europe.

Irene and James Fowlie of Strichen in Aberdeenshire – previous Farmers Weekly Mixed Farmer of the Year finalists – sold 30 ewe lambs, 40 gimmers and three tups to the overseas buyers.

See also: UK government drops bill to end live animal exports

The sheep were flown by Turkish Airlines from Stansted Airport to Maastricht in the Netherlands, where they were transferred to another aircraft and flown to a livestock holding facility in Istanbul, Turkey, before finally being flown to Georgia.

The sheep were loaded airside at Stansted Airport into special two-tier wooden crates which had been purpose-built in the Netherlands.

Irene Fowlie © Irene Fowlie

Due to the length of the journey, feed was provided inside the wooden crates, with water made available at each of the stops.

Each animal had to be individually weighed to ensure the plane had an even weight distribution.

Essie Suffolks is an MV-accredited, performance-recorded pedigree flock which is also in the scrapie monitored scheme.

This is what attracted the Georgian buyers, as well as the flock’s high health credentials.

Complex process

The initial plan was to send the sheep in 2022 via Ireland and then by road across Europe; however, this proposal was quashed by Defra on welfare grounds.

Ms Fowlie told Farmers Weekly that when the deal was first discussed, several years ago, export health certificates were not a requirement in the same way as they are today.

She has worked closely with veterinary officers at Defra to make sure the sheep could be exported.

Ms Fowlie said the sheep had to have several blood tests and a TB test before they could fly, as well as a prolonged quarantine period.

A contract also had to be signed between the vendors and the buyers agreeing terms of the deal, such as responsibility for different parts of the journey.

The vendors took responsibility for the veterinary procedures and transport to Stansted Airport from Scotland, while the buyers took the lead on arranging air transport.