Farmer fined £11k for breaching cattle movement and TB testing laws
A Six Hills farmer has been fined nearly £11,000 for extensive breaches of cattle movement and tuberculosis (TB) testing regulations.
The prosecution against John Andrew Hawley, who operates as Leicestershire Livestock, was brought by trading standards officials from Leicestershire County Council.
Mr Hawley appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on Wednesday February 4, where he pleaded guilty to three breaches of the regulations.
He was fined £3,999 for the three offences, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £1,600 and prosecution costs of £5,300 – a total of £10,899.
Gary Connors, head of regulatory services at Leicestershire County Council, said: “The combination of cattle traceability and rigorous TB testing is absolutely vital in protecting both the food chain and the wider agricultural sector.
"These rules exist to keep people safe, to prevent the spread of disease and to ensure full confidence in the meat supply chain.
“When individuals choose to ignore repeated advice, warnings and legal notices, they put animal health, public health and the rural economy at risk. We will always take firm action against this type of offending.”
The court heard that Hawley, who has been farming for more than 50 years, and who has recently retired from the business, had repeatedly failed to meet key legal duties designed to protect animal health, safeguard the food chain and prevent the spread of disease.
His farm specialises in purchasing cattle from markets and farms across the UK, fattening them, and sending them to slaughter.
The case followed concerns raised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
In May 2024, the APHA informed Leicestershire Trading Standards of their intention to revoke a licence held by Hawley after inspections revealed breaches of the licence conditions and of the Cattle Identification Regulations 2007.
Trading Standards began monitoring Hawley’s cattle movement records and discovered systematic non‑compliance, despite previous advice and formal warning letters from Leicestershire Trading Standards.
Between 27 January and 12 May 2025, Trading Standards officers found that Hawley had notified the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) late or not at all of around 85 per cent of the 279 cattle moved off his farm, and 79 per cent of the 97 cattle moved onto it.
In one instance, 55 cattle sent to slaughter between April 7 and 25, 2025 entered the human food chain without any notification being made to BCMS.
Further breaches involved TB controls. On October 19, 2024, the APHA required Hawley to complete a whole‑herd TB test between December17, 2024 and February 18, 2025.
He did not comply, resulting in his holding losing its officially TB‑free status and receiving a movement restriction prohibiting all cattle movements without a licence.
Despite this, Hawley unlawfully moved 65 cattle off the farm and 35 cattle onto it before the restriction was lifted on March 21, 2025.
Although he later organised a TB test between February 24 and 27, 2025, it could not be completed because seven cattle which, according to official records, should have been alive and on the farm, could not be accounted for.
When interviewed, Hawley blamed an injury, administrative delays and paperwork difficulties for his failure to comply with the law, and stated that he sends between 3,000 and 4,000 cattle to slaughter each year.