EAST Lancashire's farmers are being urged to sign up to a new scheme of disposing of dead livestock.

EU Legislation has banned the on-farm burial of carcasses, which has prompted the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to launch a new scheme.

It involves farmers paying an annual subscription, subsidised by the government, to have dead animals removed and disposed of.

The fee depends on the size of the farm, and there will be three categories of farm.

Lancashire NFU county chairman Thomas Binns, who runs a farm in the Ribble Valley, said: "The NFU believes that the scheme is a good deal and one that farmers should support.

"The Government is aiming to get more than 50 per cent of livestock holdings to register their interest.

"The whole thing is dependent on the support of the industry and it is essential that farmers register their interest.

"The scheme does address what is a pressing problem.

"But the Government needs to make sure that the subscriptions fees are held down in the long-term."

The new EU rules took effect from May 1 and are aimed at making sure that there is no pollution of land.