Approved Finishing Units (AFUs) provide a route for rearing, fattening, or finishing cattle from TB-restricted and unrestricted farms. They must be approved and licensed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and can only be approved in the High Risk Area (HRA) and Edge Area of England, and the High TB Areas of Wales.
AFUs can’t be approved in Scotland, the Low Risk Area (LRA) of England or the Low and Intermediate TB Areas of Wales. However, TB-restricted cattle from premises in these areas can be moved onto AFUs elsewhere in England and in Wales.
Types of AFU
There are three types of AFU, with or without grazing, depending on where the unit is located.
Can be approved in the HRA and Edge Area of England, and the High TB Areas of Wales.
Can only be approved in the HRA of England, subject to certain criteria.
Can only be approved in the HRA of England, including in badger control areas.
There are also rearing AFUs. Operators of these units can purchase calves from multiple TB-restricted herds, and at the appropriate stage in the production cycle, rear them and then move them to another AFU set up to receive older stock. An individual animal can only move from an AFU/AFUE on one occasion to an AFU in Wales. It cannot then move to another AFU in Wales.
Source of cattle
AFUs in England may source cattle under licence from:
- TB-restricted premises in England, Wales, and Scotland
- TB-dedicated sales ("orange markets") in England and Wales
- On-farm dispersal sales in England only
- AFUs in England and Wales
- TB isolation units in England and Wales
- Unrestricted premises in England, Wales, and Scotland.
AFUs in Wales may source cattle under licence from:
- TB-restricted premises in England, Wales, and Scotland
- TB-dedicated sales ("orange markets") in England and Wales
- On-farm dispersal sales in England
- AFUs in England and Wales
- TB isolation units in England and Wales
- Unrestricted premises in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Destination of cattle
Cattle within an AFU in England and Wales can only move off under licence:
- Directly to a slaughterhouse in England or Wales
- To slaughter via an approved TB slaughter gathering for TB-restricted cattle in England or Wales*
- Directly to another AFU in England or Wales, or to an AFUE in England.
- To slaughter or to an AFU/AFUE via a TB-dedicated sale (orange market)
*Cattle from an AFU can’t move to an approved TB slaughter gathering in the Low Risk Area of England.
AFUEs in England have different requirements for source and destination of cattle. In Wales, any animal can only move once from an AFU to another AFU in Wales. Animals that have already moved into an AFU in Wales from an AFU or AFUE can be moved under licence to a TB dedicated sale (“orange market”), but a licence condition is that they can then only be sold at the orange market for slaughter, or to an AFU/AFUE in England.
Movements of cattle between AFUs
Since 31 December 2022, a pre-movement test is no longer required for cattle moving directly (or indirectly via an “orange market”) between AFUs in England and Wales.
For moves between AFUs, as part of the veterinary risk assessment completed before issuing a licence, APHA will review whether there has been any non-compliance recorded at the last inspection of both the origin and destination AFUs. If there are any unresolved non-compliances, the pre-movement testing exemption will not apply and cattle will require a negative tuberculin skin test in the 90 days before movement, except calves under 42 days old.
Since October 2023, keepers of TB restricted herds in England and Wales can apply for a general licence (TB16e) to cover the movement of cattle directly or through an Approved Dedicated Sale for TB-restricted cattle (an “orange market”) in England or Wales to:
- an Approved Finishing Unit(AFU) /Approved Finishing Unit Enhanced with Grazing(AFUE)
- a slaughterhouse
The general licence (TB16e) will be valid between short-interval tests. A new licence will need to be applied for after each short-interval test.
FAQ on the TB16e can be found here.
Summary of conditions for approval and operation of AFUs in England and Wales
The following general conditions apply to all AFUs in England and Wales.
- Approved for cattle only
- Not intended for pregnant animals and no breeding should take place within the unit. Contingency must be in place for any calves born unexpectedly in the unit
- Must be under TB movement restrictions (TB02) at all times. An AFU can only seek to regain officially TB free (OTF) status as part of an exit strategy agreed by APHA when it ceases to operate as an AFU
- Must be registered under a unique permanent County Parish Holding (CPH) number
- Must be self-contained, isolated from other cattle and have clear and discrete boundaries. In Wales, all AFUs must be indoor units
- The unit cannot have a temporary CPH (tCPH) or Temporary Land Association (TLA) registered against it.
Specific conditions for AFUs without grazing in England and Wales
- Can only be approved in the HRA and Edge Area in England, or the High TB Area in Wales
- Cattle sourced from TB-restricted herds must have had a negative TB test within 90 days before the movement, with the exception of calves under 42 days old.
- Since 31 December 2022, cattle moving directly between AFUs (or indirectly via an "orange market") in England and Wales no longer require a negative tuberculin skin test within 90 days before the movement, unless there is unresolved non-compliance at either of the AFUs (see above).
- Cattle sourced from OTF herds don't require pre-movement testing
- Strict biosecurity requirements must be in place, including wildlife proofing of buildings
- The default position is that no surveillance testing of cattle is carried out in the unit. However, APHA has the option to test in exceptional circumstances, for example if high numbers of carcases with lesions suspicious of TB are identified at slaughter
- In Wales, TB testing is needed if there is a TB Breakdown, for example following confirmation of TB in a recently slaughtered animal
- APHA inspection of the premises and records is carried out to confirm compliance with the approval conditions
Specific conditions for AFUs with grazing (England only)
- Can only be approved in the HRA of England where M. bovis infection is assessed to be endemic in the local wildlife
- Cannot be approved in the Edge Area of England
- AFUs with grazing cannot be approved in badger control areas in England once the first year of controls has been declared effective. This includes proposed units where any of the grazing land is located in the badger control area
- The entire AFU including the grazing must be defined by a single outer boundary i.e. dispersed, non-contiguous grazing areas cannot be included
- Boundaries for the unit must be double fenced with a 3 metre gap or equivalent, including at gates
- Cattle sourced from TB-restricted herds and AFUs must have had a clear TB test within 90 days before the movement, with the exception of calves under 42 days old. Cattle sourced from officially TB free herds don’t require pre-movement testing
- Routine surveillance testing of cattle occurs at 90 day intervals in the unit
- Strict biosecurity requirements must be in place
- APHA inspection of the premises and records is carried out to confirm compliance with the approval conditions
Application for approval of an AFU in England and Wales
To apply to APHA for approval of an AFU, you need to read the guidance notes and complete the application form, both available on GOV.UK. Please make sure that you supply all the relevant supporting documents (e.g. site plan), otherwise your application may be delayed. If you need help completing the application form, or require more information:
- In England, contact the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301 and select the option for APHA and then bovine TB. You can also email [email protected]
- In Wales, contact APHA Wales on 0300 3038268 and reference AFU application help or email [email protected]
APHA will assess your application form and may need to contact you for additional information. An APHA vet will then visit the unit to check that the terms and conditions of approval and operation can be met. If the visit is satisfactory then APHA will approve the unit. If the terms and conditions cannot be met then APHA will explain the reasons why, and what needs to be done to approve the unit.
A unique CPH number will be issued for the AFU by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) in England or Rural Payments Wales (RPW) once the unit has been approved. APHA will guide you through the application process and it’s important that you retain all documentation relating to your application.
Useful resources
- Information sheet with case study on housed AFUs in England
- List of AFUs in England and Wales on GOV.UK. The list is regularly updated and may be useful for farms wishing to sell TB-restricted cattle, and for AFUs sourcing stock
- You can find the five nearest AFUs to you on the interactive mapping tool, ibTB
- Terms and conditions for approval and operation of AFUs with and without grazing on GOV.UK
- Information about AFUEs
- Terms and conditions for approval and operation of AFUEs in England on GOV.UK