Farmers and hauliers are being warned by Animal Health not to transport heavily pregnant livestock, or animals that have given birth just days before they are due to travel.

Legislation states that all farmed livestock species that have given birth in the week prior to transportation, and those in the last 10 per cent of their gestation period, are not fit to travel.

The law was brought in to prevent heavily pregnant animals giving birth while in transit, and from suffering undue injury or distress due to the rigours of transportation.

Long journeys also make pregnant animals, and those that have recently given birth, more susceptible to metabolic disease.

However, Animal Health says it continues to receive regular reports of cattle and sheep being transported in the final stages of pregnancy. Animal Health vet Paul Honeyman said: "In law, the welfare of pregnant animals is not just a matter for the haulier. Those causing the animals to be transported, the people buying and selling them, could also be responsible. Thorough checks of pregnant livestock need to be made before they are allowed to travel, in order to prevent unnecessary suffering to the animals and their offspring."

Transporters and buyers are being urged to check with keepers when animals are due to give birth or ask to see records of service dates, while owners are advised to check for signs that animals may be about to give birth, including udder enlargement, swelling and relaxation of the vulva, discharge from the birth canal, filling of the teats, relaxation of pelvic ligaments, and behavioural changes.