This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cattle compensation proposals
01/11/2004
A faster response to any future outbreak of endemic
disease will be made possible by new cattle compensation
arrangements proposed today.
Animals suffering from contagious diseases, such as
Bovine TB, Brucellosis, EBL and BSE, will be removed from
the farm more quickly with the introduction of 29
categories to determine compensation rates - which would
help efforts to stop the disease spreading.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said:
"We have set out our vision to raise standards of animal
health and welfare across Scotland. Ensuring we are as
prepared as possible to deal with any future disease
outbreak is an important strand of the work of the Animal
Health and Welfare Strategy.
"These proposed changes to compensation levels will help
simplify and rationalise payments for cattle affected by
Bovine TB, EBL, Brucellosis and BSE.
"They will also make sure cattle suffering from disease
can be removed from the farm with no delay caused by
valuation, helping to control the outbreak more effectively
and lessen the chance of disease spreading.
"To ensure the new system is fair and practical we are
also considering setting up an industry advisory group to
provide expert advice on the new system, and also help us
take forward proposals to revise compensation arrangements
for all animals affected by a notifiable disease."
A compensation system (based on table valuations) is
proposed for the following cattle diseases: Bovine TB,
Brucellosis, BSE and Enzootic Bovine Leukosis. To determine
compensation payments, it is proposed to use a broad range
of categories of cattle against which comprehensive market
data will be continuously collected. This constitutes a
first step towards the longer-term aim of introducing full
rationalisation of compensation for all notifiable animal
diseases.
Stakeholders are invited to respond to two broad
questions; whether they have any comments on the proposed
approach, and whether an advisory group on livestock
valuations could play a useful role in helping the
Department ensure its valuation systems are both effective
and fair. Comments are also invited on the accompanying
partial Regulatory Impact assessment and draft implementing
Statutory Instruments.
This consultation takes forward issues raised as a
result of an earlier consultation on proposals for
rationalising compensation for notifiable animal disease
control, which closed in January 2004.