The purpose of the Scheme is to provide cattle producers with an alternative market for cattle aged over thirty months which have come to the end of their productive lives and can no longer be entered into the human or animal food chain as a result of the Over Thirty Month Rule. The OTM Rule bans meat from most cattle aged over 30 months at slaughter from being sold for human consumption. This is to remove older animals which are more likely to have developed a significant amount of BSE agent in any tissue, from the human food chain. It applies equally to home-produced and imported meat.