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Britain could be an F&M free fortress
THE FALURES OF PURBRIGHT CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TACKLE ANIMAL DISEASE - PUT IT OFFSHORE
"Shabby and dilapidated" is how an independent review, headed by Sir Iain Anderson, described the government-run Pirbright laboratory at the centre of last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak.
Bad regulation by DEFRA, among other organisations, has been blamed for the poor biosecurity resulting in the catastrophic losses to farmers.
The report called for a new body to run the laboratories in future, but given the scale of the problem, is this the answer? And can we trust a government which is planning to cut its animal health and welfare budget by a reported £121m?
I suggest not. We simply cannot risk another outbreak. What we need to do is move the whole production of live F&M vaccines to a safer, low-risk area, such as an offshore island.
Now, having helped to bring much of the livestock industry to its knees, the government wants to offload some of the costs of future outbreaks of F&M and other livestock diseases. Why should we pay for something over which we have no control.
An offshore island would take much of the risk away from the mainland. There are plenty of locations to choose from, such as remote islands off the coasts of Wales and Scotland.
Such a move woud have the advantage of bringing employment and economic development to an area of low income while safeguarding farmers' livelihoods.
Wouldn't it be costly? Certainly, but not in relation to the cost of another serious outbreak of F&M disease. The 2001 outbreak, for instance, was estimated to have cost more than £8bn; and it is not just farming that is affected - the whole food chain and the massive tourist industry is also damaged.
The recent sky-rocketing price of wheat, due to a global shortage, has raised the spectre of food security, something which the government has been happy to ignore until now. We are now heavily dependent on food imports.
It can only be imagined what chaos and disruption to domestic supplies would be caused by another serious outbreak of F&M.
We need to remove this risk once and for all. The government should give serious consideration to moving the Pirbright lab off the mainland. While it is here it will still pose a risk.
The authorities should then turn their attention to disease security, particlarly illegal imports of "bush meat" and other meats from areas where F&M is endemic. We are an island.
We don't have F&M unless it is imported.
DEFRA simply can't expect farmers to co-fund the control of diseases when this department is part of the problem.
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