Henry Braithwaite was a vet from the Ministry of Agriculture who visited Emmerdale Farm in March 1990 to inform Joe Sugden that the twenty beef cattle he sold at Hotten Market the week prior had been impounded by the ministry following a spot check at the abattoir as they strongly suspected the animals had been injected with steroids without authorisation. Braithwaite then informed Joe and his brother Jack that the ministry would have to inspect the rest of Emmerdale Farm's stock to ensure they hadn't been injected with steroids too.