Hilary Benn asks farmers to act carefully regarding importation of stock from blue tongue infected areas.Sounds very half hearted.As if he doesnt really care.

Richard Lochead,his counterpart in Scotland,has castigated anyone who even considers importing livestock from infected areas into Scotland and is using every means he legally can to discourage farmers from doing so.At least he is trying to allow agriculture to thrive.

No surprises there, then!

European rules and regs., rubber stamped by our puppet parliament, ensure that we are one big happy PZ. Thus 'trade' - as in movement of either vaccinated or unvaccinated stock may move freely within the border. That's border as in a European PZ border. Not the British Isles.

Although under present  statute, a ban is not possible, other countries have made entry conditional on certain hoops being jumped through. And, if he was mindful, Benn could do exactly the same. One must assume that he is at best misinformed, or just couldn't give a damn.

 How sensible is it to create BTV PZ areas one day, and then allow free traffic of stock from endemic areas of the EU the next? Doesn't exactly give farmers in those zones who actually want to protect their stock a fighting chance, does it? For at least 60 days, until our own vaccinated stock has had time to build immunity, 'provisional' entry should have been arranged, and then only for completely vaccinated / documented imports. (Italy has this system, I'm told)

Do you remember the Elvis Presley song:   "Don't you step on my blue suede shoes."

How about a Hilary Benn version:               "Don't you slip on my blue forked tongue."

Peter Wells:

Do you remember the Elvis Presley song:   "Don't you step on my blue suede shoes."

How about a Hilary Benn version:               "Don't you slip on my blue forked tongue."

Like it. But he does have a distinct disadvantage - a vegetarian bloke called 'Hilary'? (At the risk of being very un-politically correct, of course... )

YOU WOULD HOPE FARMERS HAD MORE DAM SENSE WITHOUT BEING TOLD

Agree entirely henarar, I have a low opinion of Benn but it is a bit rich to blame him for stupid selfish twerps who are putting the industry at risk. Perhaps fwi should publish the names and addresses  of  the culprits.

The trouble is that the "culprits" are apparently  importing perfectly legally. However, commonsense should tell them that the risk is not worth all the considerable expense they have had to go to in order to import in the first place. If improvements to the herd/flock have to be made, is semen less risky?