Northern Ireland veterinary medicines update

THE rules around how veterinary medicines are supplied to Northern Ireland have changed and the Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme (https://bit.ly/48MJvkD) and the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme (https://bit.ly/4s7fW4C) began on 1 January 2026. The schemes have been designed to enable continued supply of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland following the end of the grace period put in place after the UK's departure from the EU. We've been putting pressure on the UK government to introduce measures to monitor supply and mitigate any issues that arise around delivery as the schemes roll out. It's therefore positive that in December the government announced the Supply Coordination Forum, led by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and sector experts to track the situation (https://bit.ly/4s4lHAj).