NEW FOOT AND MOUTH THREAT (Jim Hume)

NEW FOOT AND MOUTH THREAT

August 6, 2007 12:00 AM

Jim Hume, MSP for the South of Scotland, today expressed deep concern that foot and mouth had returned to the UK following the discovery of the recent outbreak in Surrey.Jim Hume said:-"This is a potentially devastating blow for the livestock industry in Scotland and we will all undoubtedly be reminded of those horrific scenes back in 2001 when the foot and mouth disease outbreak resulted in the cull of more than 500,000 animals in Dumfries and Galloway alone."At a time when we've just recently seen the lifting of the ban on British beef exports, the threat of foot and mouth is a worrying and macabre spectre looming over Scotland which could cost the industry millions of pounds in a matter of months.

"An additional worry is that the timing of this threat is different to the last outbreak in that the store lamb and calf sales are due to start within the month and if farmers are unable to move their animals to sales, that could put a huge financial and welfare cost on those with livestock."During my time as a Director with the NFU Scotland I saw at first hand how badly the South of Scotland was hit by foot and mouth disease in 2001 and it has taken years for the region to make steps in recovering economically. We cannot put a value on the emotional cost to farmers and those involved in rural businesses, many of whom were unable to recover economically and emotionally from the effects of the last outbreak."There is currently in place a three month ban on UK exports which will only be extended if another positive outbreak is identified within that period. There is a case for regionalisation which means that the ban could be lifted in certain areas, Scotland being one such area, if the disease is contained to Surrey."Regionalisation is something that should be considered due to the distance of the outbreak from Scotland, but of course we will have to see if the disease has spread any further than Surrey. Strict movement controls have been in situ since the 2001 outbreak, so it should be easy to trace any movements in the vicinity of the recent outbreak.The MSP continued:-