The
British Veterinary Association
has slammed government plans to end the routine two-yearly blood
testing of beef animals for brucellosis.
Routine testing will end this April,
according to
a government announcement made in a letter published by the
Veterinary Record
on March 24. The letter states that there is “little justification
for continuing the existing routine for beef herd
surveillance”.
It was signed by
DEFRA chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds; Charles Milne, chief
vet for Scotland; and Christianne Glossop, chief vet for Wales. EU
rules no longer required routine brucellosis testing which added
little to the ability to detect outbreaks of the disease, said the
letter.
Other controls –
such as abortion reporting and investigating, and routine monthly
bulk milk testing in dairy herds – will be retained. But testing
was not a cost-effective mechanism for demonstrating freedom from
brucellosis or for detecting the disease.
But the
British Veterinary Association
warned that the decision to end testing would have far-reaching
implications. For some rural veterinary practices, it would be the
final nail in the coffin, said BVA president David Catlow.
“We are content
that with prompt reporting to veterinary surgeons we will still be
able to pick up brucellosis quickly. But we are very unhappy that
this is effectively a DEFRA budget cut which will take money away
from remote veterinary practices.”
Mr Catlow said the
BVA could accept the government’s argument for refocusing the way
that the surveillance budget was spent. But ending testing would be
catastrophic in rural areas where beef farming and veterinary
services were already marginal.
“Catastrophic
might be a strong word but it will certainly be the last straw for
many veterinary practices in some of the most isolated rural
areas.”