FUW PRESIDENT CALLS ON EC TO REVIEW BTV IMPORT RULES

Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan today called on European Commissioner for animal health and welfare Androulla Vassiliou to urgently review animal movement rules between Bluetongue protection zones.

The call follows a lengthy discussion on the disease during the union's livestock committee which resulted in chairman Aeron Prysor asking FUW president Gareth Vaughan to write to the commissioner.

In the letter Mr Vaughan stressed that the numerous incidences of BTV8 infected animals being imported into Wales and other regions of the UK from areas within Europe, where the disease is endemic, is putting the Welsh agricultural industry at significant risk.

He said: "While the current focus remains on vaccinating and protecting against BTV8, the rapid spread of other strains - in particular BTV1 - is also a major cause for concern, given the current supplies of and demand for vaccine against all strains.

"There has been less than three weeks since Wales was declared a BTV8 protection zone to allow vaccination to take place. Therefore, allowing imports from high-risk Bluetongue areas within Europe, when the vaccine has not yet had sufficient time to trigger immunity in many animals, is nonsensical.

"We believe that all movements of animals from high to low risk zones should be banned until sufficient time has passed to allow farmers to have vaccinated against the relevant strains of BTV, and for those vaccines to have taken effect.

"While we recognise that the movement of infected midges represents the major vector for the disease, livestock movements have the potential to introduce the disease into new areas that are hundreds or thousands of miles away from the original source of infection.

"Given the small number of cases detected in the UK, and the fact that no strains of the disease are currently believed to be circulating in Wales, the FUW believes that the current rules regarding animal movements between zones should be urgently reviewed to minimise the risk of various strains of the disease causing untold suffering and economical damage."

Mr Vaughan added that the union believes that in cases where animals test positive for the disease in low risk areas, where it is not known to be in circulation, the relevant authorities should be required to slaughter those animals as a preventative measure.

He ended the letter by stressing that considering the rapid spread of all strains of BTV during the past year, it is imperative that urgent action is taken to further protect livestock throughout the European Union and prevent the spread of Bluetongue.