Livestock farmers in England are set to
face a compulsory levy to contribute to the cost of managing exotic
diseases.
Proposed for introduction in 2012, farmers will
be forced to pay an annual fee to help pay for surveillance and
preparation for the outbreak of diseases, such as bluetongue,
classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth.
The fee will make up half of the £44m DEFRA
spends annually on exotic disease surveillance, and those who
refuse to pay the levy will be hit by fines.
How will it work?
The levy will be collected from the
newly-established animal health body.
Livestock farmers will be required to register
annually the maximum number of animals they keep at any one time of
year.
DEFRA has proposed this is done using a
self-declaration form which is filled in each year and is based
upon existing livestock registration requirements.
The form will ask farmers to detail the maximum
number of animals they kept the previous year, as well as an
estimate of the maximum they expect to keep in the current
year.
Depending on the type of livestock, the new body
will calculate how much levy has to be paid, based on each animal
place
(see table).
The amount paid for each animal is based on the
estimated gross output of each sector; hence, dairy farmers would
pay £4.80/head, while sheep farmers would pay 9p. It will be
adjusted each year for differences in actual and estimated
numbers.
DEFRA said it hoped payments could be
differentiated in future depending on a farm’s risk factors, such
as location and
biosecurity measures.
Will anyone be exempt?
DEFRA has calculated it would cost £15.88 to
collect and process a registration fee, so it has set out minimum
thresholds from payments.
Under the recommendations, this means that 10%
of the England’s sheep flock would be excluded from the
payment. About 90% of the country’s poultry keepers would also
escape paying the levy.