Following the recent protests outside Norwich Livestock Market we have reviewed the policing operation and the legislative options available in such scenarios.

Under the Human Rights Act 1998, all public authorities, including the police, must act in a way which is compatible with the rights set out in Schedule 1 of the Act, taken from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), unless primary legislation requires them to act otherwise.

The Human Rights Act also requires all primary and subordinate legislation to be interpreted in a way which is compatible with ECHR rights, as far as possible. This means the police have a positive duty to facilitate protest in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Two ECHR articles particularly relevant to the issues at the Livestock Market are Article 10 - the right of freedom of expression and Article 11 - the right to freedom of assembly and association. These are qualified rights, which means that in certain circumstances the state can restrict those rights. However in order to do so and for a restriction to be necessary it must be proportionate – no more than required to pursue a legitimate aim. In the case of protests, restrictions should not be made unless there is no other reasonable means to achieve the legitimate aim.

Any assessments and decisions should have regard for the principles of Article 10 and 11. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that ‘mere speculative danger’ is not an adequate reason to apply preventative restrictions on the right to protest.

As a result any protestors will be advised that whilst we recognise their right to protest, they will be advised the “focus” must be “on what was reasonable in all the circumstances”.  As explained above, the question under the ECHR  is whether an interference with the rights in Articles 10 and 11 is proportionate.  If it is not, then the defendant will have been acting reasonably and will therefore have lawful excuse particularly in relation to causing an obstruction in the highway.  If, however, the interference would be proportionate, the defendant will have been acting unreasonably in all the circumstances and will not have that lawful excuse by way of defence. The law in this area has been tested and relevant case law exists.

Officers will be present at the protest to warn approaching vehicles of a possible obstruction within the road at tactic of the protestors. Officers will also be present to monitor any disruption caused and deal with any spontaneous incidents that occur. Should you wish to report any incidents or need to seek any advice with regard to the protest and how it is managed, officers will be available at the entrance to the market to take the details.

Please be aware that the approach road to the market is a public highway and as such is subject to the provisions of the Road Traffic Act and therefore, any vehicles committing driving offences will be liable for prosecution. It his highly likely that the road ahead of you may be obstructed as you approach the market by protesters, so please ensure that you take account of that obstruction as you drive down the road and leave the appropriate stopping distance.

The market respectfully requests all sheep are booked promptly on sale days. Delays in this section jeopardize the other section's start times. Thank you for your compliance. Important information regarding sheep tags. All sheep vendors, when presenting sheep for sale, should ensure correct tagging of their sheep. For breeding sheep there must be 2 tags with matching numbers and one of the tags must be electronic. For fat lambs there must be 1 electronic tag. For cull ewes and rams (pre 2009) there must be 1 tag (which does not need to be electronic). For cull ewes and rams (born after 1st January 2010) - there must be 2 tags with matching numbers (one tag must be electronic). For store lambs there must be 2 tags with matching numbers and one of the tags must be electronic.

Please can all potential sheep vendors phone Keith Rose to enter their sheep by Friday lunchtime prior to the next sale in order that he can inform away buyers of the numbers forward. We have buyers who will support the market but need enough entries to make it worth their while attending. Keith can be contacted on: 07960 392840

Due to new TB rules announced on 6th April, all cattle sold in Norwich Livestock Market are from TB4 area, so do not need to be post-movement tested.

All cattle vendors in East Anglia should note that we are seeing more buyers from TB4 areas coming to the Norwich Livestock Market to aquire TB4 cattle. We have buyers from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Bedfordshire so keep the cattle coming as we have increased demand since the new rules came into place.

There is no need to travel 80-100 miles to markets in a TB1 area.

Vendors please note that by law all calves presented for sale must be over seven days old.

Cage fees and fees for deadstock will be collected at the time of arrival and booking in. There will be no exceptions to this and please do not ask for the fees to be deducted from your account if you buy anything.

All items purchased must be paid for on the day by either cash or debit card. We will not accept any cheques so please come prepared.

We will pay out all vendors in cash on the day immediately after the sale of their items. Please note: if you do not collect your money on the day of sale, it will be held over to the next sale. We will not be sending out any cheques due to the costs.

All pens will be cable tied shut and only authorised members of staff will be permitted to release the pens after the sale upon production of a paid invoice. Please do not attempt to open the pens yourselves.

Cage fees will remain the same at £2. Table top fees for boxes is £1 for each container. Hatching eggs 50p per lot and deadstock £1 per lot.

Penning is pre-allocated prior to the day of sale and is strictly on a first come first served basis. It helps if you book your items in early so we can advertise them on the website. We please ask that if you book pens and then do not think you will need them that you let us know so we can release them to someone else.

The order of sale will be deadstock, eggs, boxes and then cages.

No photography is permitted at the market, for further details see our terms and conditions. All queries to Penny.

No dogs are allowed on the auction premises.

Country Kitchen and Country Garden sale opportunities - if you have general produce for sale ie eggs, garden plants, cakes, vegetables, etc you may hire a table at £5 for the duration of the sale. Pre-booking required. Please contact us with your product details.