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Concern over lack of agreement on animal medicine

Louise Cullen
BBC News NI agriculture and environment correspondent
Getty Images A vet wearing light blue scrubs fills a syringe in a stall containing a white and brown calf.Getty Images
Animal medicines are subject to an extended grace period post-Brexit

A House of Lords committee has written to the government amid continuing concern about the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland post-Brexit.

The Northern Ireland scrutiny committee says it has "further questions" that have not been addressed in full.

While human medicines are covered by the Windsor Framework, animal medicines are instead subject to an extended grace period that expires at the end of this year.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has warned that a failure to reach an agreement could have "potentially devastating consequences".

The letter to Thomas Symonds, the minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations, asks for "urgent clarity" on matters including what adjustments are being made to ensure supply of veterinary medicines and what the government's current assessment is of products at risk of discontinuation.

The BVA has said it does not believe agreement will be achieved within the remaining grace period.

Its president Elizabeth Mullineaux said: "A veterinary agreement with the EU could have an incredibly positive impact on so many different areas of concern, but in particular, could finally lead to a permanent resolution to the long-standing question of future access to vital veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland.

"Without a solution, there are serious implications not only for animal health and welfare, but also for public health."

The BVA has proposed a series of short-term solutions and mitigations while negotiations continue.

They include re-routing supply through the Republic of Ireland, creating exceptions for medicines that were aligned with regulation pre-Brexit and developing a special import certificate to allow the import of medicines from outside the European Economic Area.

The Northern Ireland scrutiny committee was appointed in January 2025, after the dissolution of the former Windsor Framework Sub-Committee at the end of the last parliament.

It examines the Windsor Framework, complementing the work of the Democratic Scrutiny Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.