Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Who gets inspected
All UK livestock farms are eligible for inspection.
What gets inspected
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) inspects farms on behalf of the VMD. APHA inspectors will look at:
- on-farm medicines (including in feed)
- medicine records books (invoices and prescriptions for medicines and computer records where appropriate)
- farm movement records
Time and length
You will not get notice of an inspection - they can happen on any day at any time. Its unlikely youll be inspected outside normal working hours unless theres reason to suspect this will show youre non-compliant.
An on-farm inspection takes 1 to 3 hours.
What happens next
Non-compliance results are published on the Residues: Statutory Surveillance Results page of GOV.UK.
Your details are not included in any publication.
The VMD works with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the local authority if enforcement measures are deemed necessary.
Last updated 23 September 2022 +show all updates
-
Reviewed and updated to state APHA inspects farms on behalf of the VMD.
-
First published.