Speech By Lord Davies Of Oldham Given At The British Veterinary Association Dinner On 16th February 2010
14 years ago
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17th February, 2010 00h00
Thank you very much for inviting me here tonight, I very much welcome the opportunity to reply on behalf of the Government on the points you have raised.
Please do not confuse the need to carefully manage reducing resources by making increasingly tough decisions with a lack of regard for the work that vets do in so many vital areas.
Defra does value the role that the contribution that private vets make to society; not only in their capacity as Official Veterinarians but also in the day to day contribution they make to ensuring we have safe and wholesome food; through the protection of public health and animal welfare; and helping to prevent disease outbreaks through encouraging good biosecurity and carrying out surveillance.
We are very aware that the food animal component of the veterinary profession is facing real challenges. That is why we commissioned the ‘Unlocking Potential Report’ by Professor Philip Lowe which considered these problems in some detail.
Inevitably, Professor Lowe focussed on the changing role of the veterinary surgeon – and he was very clear about how important this role is. He recognised that food animal vets are central to the promotion of animal health and welfare as well as to the safeguarding of public health from zoonotic disease.
Professor Lowe drew some important conclusions about the profession’s need to work closely with its customers in the food and farming sectors and in Government to better understand the future demands for veterinary services and to ensure the considerable potential value that veterinary expertise can deliver, is fully realised.
The report identified the broad value that vets bring to all these public good functions and we endorse this central message. And we want to help the profession continue to demonstrate and realise its full potential.
The Lowe Report posed challenges for the veterinary profession and its customers – including Government. I am very pleased that the BVA has responded positively to the report – even though not everyone necessarily agrees with everything the report has to say. But the commitment is there within the profession and Government to continue to work closely together to ensure we have sustainable and profitable veterinary practices continuing to support our farmers and our food industry.
Food and food production over the last year has risen sharply up the agenda both within Government and with the public. This I believe should be a cause for optimism and maintaining animal health will be a crucial part of this.
We recognise that bovine TB is a serious problem, particularly in the South West of England and the Midlands. For those most seriously affected, the economic and human consequences can be devastating. Although the science suggests that culling would be effective, it might also not work. It could end up making the disease worse if it was not sustained over time or delivered effectively.
The Jenkins report was drawn from a Defra-funded project by Imperial College to analyse cattle herd breakdowns in proactive and survey-only Randomised Badger Culling Trial areas following the cessation of culling in 2005. It is not new evidence. It simply updates earlier results from the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) report which was one of a number of considerations taken into account when Hilary Benn reached his decision on culling. This decision has not changed.
Bovine TB is a devolved matter. The Welsh announcement for an Intensive Action Pilot Area to include badger culling and additional cattle measures does not change the position in England. We will watch the implementation of the Welsh plan closely and we will be watching the Welsh trials with interest.
I’m glad you share the view that the Responsibility and Cost Sharing Bill is a positive step forward.
The proposals we have put forward are about fundamental change to the relationship between Government and industry, and they represent a real opportunity to reshape the way animal health is managed and funded in this country. Many representative bodies, not least the NFU, have been calling for such a change for a number of years.
The Secretary of State decided that the Non Departmental Public Body model struck the right balance between an entirely independent body and the need to maintain close links to manage the animal welfare and animal health relationship.
Animal health policy and delivery decisions will be the responsibility of an independent Board comprising people with relevant knowledge, skills and experience, including from across the spectrum of interests in animal health.
Defra will retain an overarching perspective on funding and regulatory matters to ensure consistency and alignment across the animal health delivery landscape.
The aims of the new body, as set out in the draft Bill, are:
- to prevent disease and its spread in animals
- to prevent the transmission of disease organisms from animals to humans; and
- to protect the public, economy and environment from harm from animal disease.
Our proposals represent a package of measures which have been subject to extensive debate and consultation across the range of interests within the livestock sector. I can assure that all views received in response to the last consultation were given full consideration and taken into account in developing the draft Bill. The publication of the draft Bill signals a further period of public consultation which will close on 19 April.
In response to your point about splitting the areas of animal health and welfare we recognise the extremely close connections between these two areas.
However, animal welfare for wild, farmed and companion animals is of wide public interest and direct Ministerial accountability to Parliament is important, and in line with this our Secretary of State took the decision to retain responsibility for animal welfare.
Welcome the policy statement from the BVA on dairy cow welfare.
Aware of the recent reports from EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) on several aspects of dairy cow welfare.
FAWC (Farm Animal Welfare Council, independent welfare advisory body to Ministers) have also recently (Oct 09) published an opinion on the welfare of the dairy cow and made several recommendations including close liaison between dairy farmers and their veterinary surgeons in the production of health and welfare plans.
The Government is considering the opinion and both that, and the EFSA report, have fed into the UK’s negotiating line for the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes current discussions on revising its cattle recommendations.
Defra has funded a number of research projects in recent years on dairy cattle, for example on lameness with the Royal Veterinary College on the development of automated lameness detection systems and with Bristol University on the ‘Healthy Foot Project’ now supported by the Tubney Trust.
On welfare labelling - the Commission has recently published a report outlining possible options for welfare labelling to be discussed at forthcoming Agriculture Council next week. We have developed some general principles against which we will consider these options and are also funding some customer insight work to assess the barriers and incentives to consumers purchasing higher welfare products.
Welcome the work being done by the BVA in Europe on welfare labelling and look forward to working with you as we develop our thinking further on this.
I agree that education to owners and even more important prospective owners is key to improving the health and welfare of dogs.
One of the problems with dog breeding is the degree of ignorance that seems to exist when it comes to selecting puppies. Health, temperament and the environment in which they are going to be kept, not appearance or fashion should be the deciding factor when it comes to deciding what breed or type of dog you want as your pet.
The veterinary profession and animal welfare organisations are uniquely placed to get this message across and I welcome the work being done by the BVA and others to produce guidance and come up with practical solutions to deal with this
problem.
The government has made it clear that it welcomes the recent reports by Sir Patrick Bateson, the Associate Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare and the RSPCA and I am impressed by the momentum that exists within the dog world to see long overdue reforms in the way that dogs are bred in this country.
It’s been very rewarding working closely with the BVA on Pets and we continue to take rabies, tick and tapeworm controls very seriously.
We hope to begin working with EU partners to develop a common surveillance programme on tapeworm and as the BVA knows, we are already considering the additional evidence we will need on tapeworm and ticks in order to make sure our controls continue to protect the UK from the incursion of these serious diseases.
I am grateful for the very forthright comment on dangerous dogs and the effectiveness of breed specific legislation.
This is not the right forum to discuss the pros and cons of a breed specific ban but what I would say to those that want it repealed is that I and my colleagues in Defra are always willing to hear from those who want to change the law.
I only ask that those who want change should always provide the evidence to show that their suggestions for change are going to improve matters and are a proportionate response to the problem that needs to be addressed. The draft Bill from Scotland suggests to me that however unpalatable breed specific legislation may be it is not something that can easily be ditched.
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