Description

Animal Health Laboratories (AHL) provides faecal sampling kits and laboratory testing to support farmers participating in the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme (BWS) – Category 3 Faecal Testing Action.

                                                                  2026 Beef Welfare Scheme – Important Dates

Scheme application closing date: 5:00pm, 23 September 2026

            LAST DATE TO ORDER YOUR AHL FAECAL TESTING KIT: 13 OCTOBER 2026

Farmers selecting Category 3 – Faecal Testing must purchase their testing kit within the timeframe specified by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and complete the required testing in accordance with the scheme requirements. AHL provides laboratory testing to support farmers completing the Category 3 – Faecal Testing Action.

We recommend ordering your kit early to allow sufficient time to receive your kit and complete both sampling rounds, which must be a minimum of four weeks apart.

What do I need to do?

Under the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme, farmers who select the Faecal Testing option under Category 3 must complete:

Sample 1 – Faecal Test followed by

Sample 2 – Faecal Test   NOTE: There must be a minimum of 4 weeks between the two tests.

Choose your testing for each sample

When ordering, you can select the test required for Sample 1 and Sample 2 separately:

Option 1 – Worm Egg Count

or

Option 2 – Worm Egg Count + Liver & Rumen Fluke Test

This allows you to select the appropriate testing option for each sampling round.

What happens after I order?

AHL will send your Beef Welfare Scheme sampling kit by tracked delivery.

Your kit will contain the sampling materials and instructions required to collect and return your samples to AHL.

Step 1: Collect Sample 1 and return the fresh faecal sample to AHL for laboratory testing.

Step 2: Wait a minimum of 4 weeks.

Step 3: Collect Sample 2 and return the second fresh faecal sample to AHL for laboratory testing.

Laboratory results will be issued following each testing round.

Important Scheme Requirements

Under the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme:

• Two faecal tests must be completed.
• There must be a minimum of 4 weeks between Test 1 and Test 2.
• All faecal samples submitted for testing must be fresh.
• Sampling kits must be purchased within the dates specified by DAFM for the 2026 scheme.
• Farmers must retain their sampling kit purchase receipt/invoice as evidence of purchase for the scheme.
• Farmers must maintain the required scheme records, including the date samples were collected, number of samples collected and date submitted to the laboratory.

Please retain your AHL order confirmation/invoice and laboratory results with your Beef Welfare Scheme records.

Pricing & Delivery

The product price displayed includes 13.5% VAT.

Tracked sampling kit delivery is charged separately at checkout.

Please Note

Participation in and eligibility for payment under the Beef Welfare Scheme is determined by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Purchase of this AHL testing package does not in itself guarantee eligibility for, compliance with, or payment under the scheme.

Farmers should ensure they have selected the appropriate Category 3 action when applying to the scheme and should refer to the official 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme Terms and Conditions for the complete scheme requirements.

Purchase, Testing & Refund Terms

1. Purchase of Testing Package

By placing an order for the AHL Beef Welfare Scheme 2026 Faecal Testing Package, the customer is purchasing and paying in advance for the sampling kit, associated administration and the laboratory testing selected for Sample 1 and Sample 2.

Following receipt of the order, Animal Health Laboratories (AHL) will process the order and dispatch the relevant sampling materials by tracked delivery.

A VAT invoice/receipt will be issued following purchase and should be retained by the customer as evidence of purchase for their 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme records.

2. Laboratory Testing Included

The package includes the laboratory testing selected by the customer at the time of purchase for:

• Sample 1, and
• Sample 2.

The available testing options are:

• Worm Egg Count, or
• Worm Egg Count + Liver & Rumen Fluke Test.

The customer is responsible for selecting the appropriate testing option for each sampling occasion.

3. Sample 1 and Sample 2

It is the customer’s responsibility to collect and return suitable samples to AHL in accordance with the sampling instructions provided and the requirements of the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme.

Sample 2 must be collected a minimum of four weeks after Sample 1, in accordance with the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme requirements.

Samples should be returned to AHL as promptly as possible following collection.

4. Package Validity

The AHL testing package is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase, subject always to any earlier sampling, testing, submission or completion deadlines imposed under the 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme.

The 12-month validity of the AHL package does not extend any deadline imposed by DAFM under the Beef Welfare Scheme.

Any unused testing entitlement will expire at the end of the applicable validity period.

5. Samples Not Returned

The customer is responsible for ensuring that Sample 1 and Sample 2 are collected and submitted to AHL within the required timeframe.

Once the sampling kit has been dispatched, failure to submit Sample 1 and/or Sample 2 does not entitle the customer to a refund for unused testing.

Unused testing cannot be exchanged for cash or refunded simply because the customer does not submit the required sample(s).

AHL is not responsible for a customer’s failure to collect or submit samples, failure to meet scheme deadlines or failure to comply with applicable DAFM requirements.

This does not affect any statutory rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded.

6. Unsuitable or Unusable Samples

Samples must be collected, labelled, stored and returned in accordance with the instructions provided by AHL.

Where a sample received by AHL is unsuitable for testing, insufficient, incorrectly identified or otherwise cannot be tested reliably, AHL may contact the customer and request a replacement sample.

Additional sampling materials, testing and/or delivery charges may apply where replacement materials or additional testing are required.

7. Delivery

Sampling kits will be dispatched by tracked delivery to the delivery address provided when ordering.

The applicable delivery charge will be shown separately during checkout.

Customers are responsible for ensuring that the delivery details supplied to AHL are complete and accurate.

8. Scheme Eligibility & Compliance

Purchase of an AHL Beef Welfare Scheme testing package does not guarantee eligibility for, participation in, or payment under the Beef Welfare Scheme.

It remains the customer’s responsibility to:

• ensure they are eligible to participate in the scheme;
• select the appropriate scheme action;
• comply with all applicable DAFM requirements and deadlines;
• collect and submit samples within the required timeframe; and
• retain the documentation and records required under the scheme.

Customers should refer to the official 2026 Beef Welfare Scheme Terms and Conditions issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for the complete scheme requirements.

9. Results

Laboratory results will be issued following completion of the relevant testing.

The customer’s responsibility to retain appropriate documentation for the Beef Welfare Scheme is separate from the issuing of laboratory test results.

10. General AHL Terms & Conditions

These product-specific terms apply to the AHL Beef Welfare Scheme 2026 Faecal Testing Package and should be read together with Animal Health Laboratories’ general Terms and Conditions.

Where mandatory consumer or other applicable law provides rights that cannot legally be excluded or restricted, those rights will continue to apply.