Death knell for UK's pigs? How dangerous animal diseases pose very real threat

The financial consequences of an animal epidemic on the scale of the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak would be colossal

Twenty-four years ago, I was a newly elected MP after one of the most unusual elections that Britain had seen for some time. Contested as the UK struggled to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, my progress around the Northern Isles involved a series of disinfectant foot baths at every stop.

For farming communities, foot-and-mouth was a traumatising experience. For many the effects remain with them to this day. We still cannot be certain what introduced the virus into the UK but the likeliest source was illegally imported meat.

Once the disease had been contained, solemn vows were made to learn the lessons and not to forget them. Fast forward to 2025, however, and Britain’s biosecurity is as bad as ever it was. Now is the time to invest in our defences before it is too late.

READ MORE: Chief Vet says Scotland can ‘avoid’ foot and mouth after case found in Germany

Some fear that African swine fever could be the death knell for the UK pig industry (Picture: Damien Meyer) | AFP via Getty Images

Cows, sheep and pigs at risk

The threat is imminent and drawing closer. Foot-and-mouth disease is back on continental Europe. Bluetongue, a virus borne by midges and which is devastating for sheep, is heading back to these shores. African swine fever, which some think could be the death knell for the UK pig industry, is already present in Europe.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) is the body charged with keeping the nation’s flocks and herds safe and healthy but its headquarters are in a parlous state, as staff struggle to work in buildings that are long since past their prime. Our ability to deal with any of the disease invasions that we might face is questionable at best.

It is estimated that a proper redevelopment of Apha headquarters could cost £2 billion. The announcement of £1bn in funding by the government this week is unequivocally welcome, even if it does not meet the whole bill. We just have to hope that it is not too little, too late.

Investing in biosecurity

This week I took the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee to Germany to see how they take on animal disease. The German equivalent of the Apha, the Friedrich-Loeffler Institut, could hardly be more different. As we waited to meet our hosts, one committee member asked wryly where the buckets were to collect the drips from leaking roofs.

The staff in Germany know our challenges. As we thanked them before leaving, their response was to ask only that we did whatever we could to help their British counterparts.

They understand as well as anyone the need for proper investment in biosecurity. In January the worst fears of the German authorities were realised as foot-and-mouth was confirmed in a herd of water buffalo in Brandenburg. It was identified early and decisive action was taken. Even so, it is believed that the cost to the German economy was in the region of a billion euros.

The financial consequences for the UK of another outbreak of the scale of 2001 would be colossal, let alone the cost in terms of future productivity and mental health in the farming community.

The money we need to spend to protect against animal disease is chunky but it pales into insignificance when compared to the costs of being hit by another major outbreak. Never did the old maxim “penny wise, pound foolish” ring so true.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland