Chief Veterinary Officers' 2005 Annual Report Published

The Chief Veterinary Officer's annual report, reviewing extensive developments in animal health and welfare in Great Britain during 2005, was published on May 15th 2006. The report provides information that helps readers make comparisons and monitor progress against previous years. Topics covered in the latest report include progress towards lifting of the beef export ban, the outbreak of Newcastle Disease in Surrey in July 2005 and measures put in place to deal with the threat of avian influenza. Other major areas covered in the report are: * The first full year of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy. * The launch of the Government's framework to control bovine TB. * The continuing decline in the number of BSE cases, leading to the replacement of the Over Thirty Month rule. * A successful EU Presidency. * The State Veterinary Service becoming an executive agency. * The introduction of the Animal Welfare Bill. Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Debby Reynolds said: "This report shows continued progress in a number of key areas. "It shows that Defra has continued to work effectively with other government departments and a wide range of stakeholders to help monitor and prepare for potential incursion from avian influenza. "In December last year the Government's avian influenza contingency plan was updated. In the same month the EU's Avian Influenza Directive was passed under the UK's Presidency. "The containment and eradication of an outbreak of another avian notifiable disease Newcastle Disease - the first confirmed case of an exotic disease in Great Britain since 2001 - was a success. "The report also details work carried out to combat bovine TB and highlights the fact that the number of BSE cases in Great Britain in 2005 was lower than that in 1988 when the disease first became notifiable - a significant achievement in the animal, health and welfare agenda."

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