The Tenant Farmers Association has branded DEFRA’s policy of cost and responsibility sharing for animal health and welfare as both hypocritical and damaging.

 

Speaking at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, TFA National Chairman Greg Bliss said “the hypocrisy comes because the Government speaks of wanting to share decision making on animal health issues with the industry and yet its continuing ambivalence towards the suffering of farm families who face the ongoing tragedy of TB in their cattle herds and its lack of backbone in failing to tackle the TB reservoir in wildlife show DEFRA is not interested in sharing responsibility but simply looking to farmers to subsidise its bankrupt animal health policy.”

 

“DEFRA’s policy is also damaging since food and food security are becoming increasingly important issues and it is vital that the Government continues to take a keen interest in ensuring that we can meet our current food needs and our future food security,” said Mr Bliss.

 

“Information from the English Beef and Lamb Executive of the new Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board shows that many producers of beef and sheep in England and Wales continue to lose money despite some improvement in output prices. Therefore the industry is simply not in a position to be picking up any of the Government’s tab for its legitimate animal health, disease control and animal welfare work. It is well known that UK livestock producers have high animal health and animal welfare standards which already add to the costs of their businesses. If the Government now wishes to pass further costs onto those businesses it will result in many more farms going out of livestock production and the UK then having to rely upon an increasing amount of imported products from countries where we have got no control over the animal health and welfare status of their production systems,” said Mr Bliss.

 

The Government argues that its wish to see a greater degree of cost sharing is a means to improve animal health and welfare delivery in Great Britain. However, it is clear to the TFA that the Government’s drive to pass further costs onto the industry are a legacy of its poor management of the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak and its inability to deal sensibly with the curse of bovine TB which has in turn allowed Government expenditure in this area to rocket uncontrollably – points accepted by DEFRA Minister Lord Rooker at last week’s Cost and Responsibility Seminar at the Royal Show.

 

“Trust between the Government and industry has gone and the TFA has no choice but to disengage from this process and we will be consulting our members on what action we should be taking next” said Mr Bliss.

Greg Bliss along with newly appointed TFA National Vice-Chairman Stephen Wyrill and Rebecca Marshall, TFA National Adviser will be available on stand number 656 at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate on all three days of the show, 08 to 10 July.

 

Greg Bliss and Stephen Wyrill will be holding a Press Conference at the Press centre at the Great Yorkshire Show at 11:00am on Tuesday, 08 July to answer questions on this and other issues.

 

For further information contact the TFA on 0118 930 6130.