Following the unseasonably heavy snowfall that blanketed areas of the Western UK in late March, farming groups have said that, in the worst hit places, it could be May before all animals that perished in the snow are accounted for.

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Although temperatures rose with the move into April, the thaw in Britain's uplands has been slow. Many thousands of animals are thought to have died as a result of the harsh weather, which hit lambing sheep particularly hard.

Although in Scotland and Northern Ireland some farmers whose animals fell victim to the snow and freezing temperatures will benefit from crisis payments, the governments of England and Wales have rejected calls for such funding.

In response to criticism over his stance, Wales' Natural Resources and Food Minister Alun Davies announced the government would award £500,000 to farm charities in a bid to help address problems caused by the severe weather conditions. He also said he would seek to bring forward single payments to October to help cash-strapped farmers.  

In a statement issued on Tuesday (16 April), as the current derogations allowing farmers in certain areas to bury fallen animals on their land were set to end, Davies announced grants of £100,000 to Farm Crisis Network (FCN); £150,000 to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) and £250,000 to the Addington Trust.

The move was welcomed by farming groups, though some said the Welsh Government needs to do more to help struggling farmers. Farmers' Union of Wales president Emyr Jones said, "Almost three weeks ago we warned of an imminent and escalating problem regarding fallen stock collection. That problem is continuing to escalate as more and more animals buried under the snows come to light, yet the derogation is being restricted."

He also called for burial derogations, which have now been extended until 23 April, to be applied across Wales; "We are being inundated by calls from members who have been waiting weeks for fallen stock to be collected, and as the weather warms up horrendous scenes are developing. We have also called for a time limit to be set so that if animals are not collected within a few days of being arranged, farmers can bury them."

In England, Defra said it has relaxed regulations on driver hours to ensure feed gets to remote farms and allowed for a burial derogation, though industry groups have called for assurances that government and its agencies will be supportive of farmers in the wake of March's disastrous weather.