Animal Health and Welfare

This week, Defra published its agricultural transition plan (ATP), which sets out some of the major milestones for the sector over the next seven years. Abi Kay reports.

Farm groups have welcomed the ‘positive’ news that new TB incidents across Wales have dropped by 10 per cent in the 12 months to August 2020.

Welsh vets responsible for TB testing face being moved to ports such as Holyhead to deal with Brexit issues after January 1, presenting major concerns for animal health.

The Welsh Conservatives have called for CCTV to become mandatory in abattoirs, branding the Government’s voluntary approach to date a ‘failure’.

Failure to protect the UK’s food production standards in future trade deals risks increasing anti-microbial resistance in humans, a new report has warned.

For too long, farmers and vets have had very little opportunity to take control of eradicating TB. Now, we have a plan to change things, says James Russell, British Veterinary Association (BVA) junior vice president.

The BVA has called for farmers to benefit from increased compensation, longer testing intervals and greater opportunities to trade if they participate in a proposed TB earned recognition scheme.

An attempt in the House of Lords to ban live exports as part of the Agriculture Bill has been stymied by complications over Northern Ireland.

The UK has an opportunity to lead on preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases such as the coronavirus, the Co-op’s head of agriculture Caroline Mason has said.

Farm groups have welcomed the news that small abattoirs are to benefit from public funding under the terms of the Agriculture Bill.