The NFU Responds to the Draft Animal Health Bill
The NFU have expressed their opposition to the transfer of any costs to livestock farmers for dealing with animal disease outbreaks. Furthermore, it is extremely concerned about what it regards as a “lack of detail about potential cost-sharing”.
NFU President Peter Kendall said: "We have lobbied for some time on this issue and consulted our members; we remain completely opposed to any cost burden being passed on to livestock farmers, particularly as we believe there are genuine savings to be made within Defra's current Animal Health budget.
"Livestock farmers are already paying their fair share; they contribute significantly to the overall cost of animal health and welfare and adhere to strict biosecurity on farm. Reducing or removing compensation for farms deemed to have failed relative requirements is another major area of concern for us. While this may sound reasonable to some, our fear is that it will be impossible to develop a fair and proportionate system which takes into account individual farming businesses and the variety of livestock kept and different types and strains for diseases. Government also needs to be clearer about how it will increase protection to the industry from exotic diseases entering the country."
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
