Call for AHVLA cuts rethink
Llyr Huws Gruffydd, Rural Affairs Spokesperson for Plaid Cymru has called for a rethink of the decision to downgrade Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA) centres in Wales in light of the threat of the Schmallenberg Virus (SBV).
In a Senedd call for the Welsh Government's Environment Minister John Griffiths, Mr Gruffydd said “Withdrawing key services from the laboratories in Aberystwyth and Carmarthen could create an unacceptable delay in identifying and tackling disease outbreaks. The worrying prospect of the spread of the Schmallenberg virus is exactly why the services of the Welsh AHVLA centres should not be downgraded. Any delay in sending samples away to be tested could be key in such circumstance, as is the loss of a local overview of any new patterns or trends in terms of animal health.”
“Many communities in Wales are highly dependent on agriculture as an industry, and I urge the UK government to acknowledge this by reversing its plans to downgrade the services of our laboratories. They are vital services for our farmers and rural communities.”
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.
