This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Plans for scrapie eradication
12/01/2005
Plans to improve the long-term position of
scrapie-resistance in Scottish sheep flocks were announced
today.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie set out the
future direction for the ram genotype testing programme
under the National Scrapie Plan following public
consultation.
This comes ahead of the introduction in April 2005 of an
EU Directive which will make ram testing compulsory.
Testing of breeding rams will become compulsory for all
purebred flocks and any other flocks producing and selling
homebred rams for breeding. All tups carrying VRQ will be
slaughtered or removed from the breeding chain. Allied to
this will be a voluntary ewe-testing scheme.
Mr Finnie said:
"The Scottish Executive is committed to improving Animal
Health and Welfare standards - reducing incidents of
disease and improving the quality of Scottish produce to
enhance the profitability of Scottish farmers.
"Scottish producers, particularly of our mainstream
breeds, through their commitment to the National Scrapie
Plan have achieved significant progress to improve the
Scottish flocks' response to this disease.
"These plans for the future direction of scrapie testing
will allow Scottish producers to build on their success and
provide the industry with a longer-term programme to lead
the drive to eradicate scrapie from our national
flock."
Scrapie is a fatal neurological disease of sheep. It has
been present in the national flock for over 250 years, but
is not considered to be transmissible to humans.
There is a theoretical risk that BSE is present in sheep
in the UK, masked as scrapie, although it has not been
found occurring naturally. The National Scrapie Plan
addresses the theoretical possibility of BSE being present
in sheep.
Commission Decision 2003/100/EC sets minimum
requirements for the introduction of EU-wide genotype based
breeding programmes, including the slaughter or castration
of VRQ rams and movement restrictions on ewes of known VRQ
genotype.
These minimum requirements which Member States may
choose to exceed apply on a voluntary basis from January
2004 but will become compulsory from April 2005.
The review of the NSP was conducted in a public
consultation which ended on 13 October, 2004. Government
will now proceed to work up plans for the implementation of
a compulsory breeding programme for all purebred flocks, in
line with Option C, which will provide an element of ewe
testing under voluntary and cost-sharing arrangements,
conditional on the removal of ARQ/ARQ rams by 2010 in
participating flocks.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Departments in England,
Wales and Northern Ireland will be making duplicate
announcements separately.
Options on the future longer-term genotype based
breeding strategies for rare breeds will be worked up and
dealt with in a consultation in 2005 following the
completion of further work by the Rare Breeds Survival
Trust.
Breeders who are members of the NSP under voluntary
arrangements have been offered an extension to their
current contracts to allow continuity of testing until the
compulsory arrangements come into force.