Scotland 'well placed to fight animal disease outbreaks'

Published on Friday 12 June 2009 22:16

SCOTLAND appears to be in a stronger position that the rest of the UK to counter future outbreaks of animal diseases, according to Nicky Paull, the president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

Speaking at Holyrood at the BVA's annual Scottish dinner, she said: "Devolution has allowed each of the UK nations to pursue its own examples of good practice in the field of animal disease control.

"But I would particularly highlight the Scottish response to bluetongue disease where compulsory vaccination has been an incredible success story."

Paull added: "The BVA supported this programme throughout the consultation period and is pleased that there has been a take-up of well over 80 per cent of the vaccine.

"But I must remind the wider industry that importing livestock from mainland Europe, where bluetongue is circulating, continues to be a risk."

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is now rampant in many areas of England and, increasingly, in Wales. Last year, about 40,000 cattle were slaughtered south of the Border. This disease is not a problem in Scotland and the Scottish Government deserves credit on this front, according to Paull.

She continued: "The failure of bTB to take hold in Scotland can again be linked to the strong legislative stance taken by the Scottish Government on pre- and post-movement testing of animals coming into your country. I am pleased to see that Scotland is considering applying for official bTB-free status. We will watch developments with considerable interest."

Paull, a partner in a mixed practice in Cornwall, clearly has a grasp of the farming pulse, not the least of which relates to the proposals from Brussels to enforce identification of every sheep in the EU.

She said: "We, of course, support the need for effective traceability. However, we share some of the industry's concerns that proposed scheme does not provide sufficient improvement over the current procedures to warrant the additional costs and practical difficulties."

Roseanna Cunningham, the Scottish environment minister, concurred with virtually all of Paull's comments.

But she made it clear that while animal health policy is devolved there is an increasing degree of frustration that the budget in that area remains firmly fixed in Whitehall.

Cunningham said: "Animal health and welfare are devolved, so tell us what your members in the BVA need to improve it. You'll not always get it and we cannot print money. But you will always get our complete attention.

"Partnerships in Scotland between government, industry and science are strong. I know that there is a willingness on both sides for relationships between government and the veterinary profession to be equally strong, but we need to work more closely together."

The full cost of the foot-and-mouth epidemic has never been officially revealed, but the bill is widely reckoned to have been in the region of 8 billion.

No government will ever again sanction such compensation and there will have to be some degree of cost sharing in the event of such a disaster.

Farmers fear that they will have to pick up the major share of any tab, and the veterinary profession clearly has its own concerns, according to Paull.