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ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE IN SCOTLAND - IMPLEMENTING THE ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE STRATEGY
4. Science and Best practice
A large part of the Strategy relates to doing certain things better, or to extending the scope of good work which is already carried out in some places. To raise standards the Strategy aims to promote the dissemination of best practice - from within Scotland, the rest of Great Britain or from the international community - and build on the input which science can provide.
A significant body of science supports the Strategy, and arrangements are being made to ensure that this is built upon and the scientific community has ongoing input to the Strategy's direction. Scotland makes a significant contribution to this through the Executive's funding of research in both Research Institutes and Universities. A strong and substantial part of the UK science base that is highly relevant to the future of animal health and welfare is located in Scotland. This includes two veterinary schools, the Moredun and Roslin Research Institutes and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC).
The
Executive's Strategy for Agricultural and Biological Research is currently being reviewed and links between the 2 strategies are being made. This will help to ensure that science's contribution to the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy is being maximised and that end user needs are reflected in the direction of the research programme.
Scottish Research has a strong and long history of contributing to animal husbandry performance and practice. Good examples are:
The Moredun Research Institute which has identified the cause of 18 diseases since it was established in 1920 and developed 12 veterinary vaccines, 8 of which are marketed including the UK's largest selling vaccine for sheep pneumonia.
They contribute to the national animal disease surveillance programme on behalf of SEERAD. SAC have been instrumental in developing Health Schemes for cattle, sheep and goats in Scotland. These schemes are partnerships between producers, veterinary practitioners and SAC that offer a range of services including certification, accreditation and disease control programmes based on the latest knowledge available. The benefits are delivered in terms of improved productivity and increased confidence to those trading in livestock. One producer scheme, HI Health, has developed to become a cattle health Quality Assurance scheme.
Scientists at Glasgow University Veterinary School carried out research and development that led to effective vaccination against lungworm in cattle. They are working closely with other scientists at the Moredun and the Roslin on strategies for vaccination and genetic resistance to worm infections in sheep.
Scientists at SAC, the Roslin Institute and the University of Edinburgh have developed a new genetic selection index that should arrest the decline in fertility in dairy cows. Their research is now looking to provide opportunities for the livestock industry to broaden its breeding goals to include improved health and welfare.
4.1 Review and update current research and best practice
High quality science and research is an essential part of the foundation of policy decisions on animal health and welfare issues, and is provided through the Government research programme.
In order to ensure that all research carried out is as valuable as possible, it is important that research results are disseminated widely so that the industry can really make use of them. Ideally the industry should also have the opportunity to feed into the identification of research needs, as they are the end users of the results; since this is the case, industry should be prepared to support projects. This may take the form of funding projects where appropriate, or contributing in other ways, or simply taking ownership of certain initiatives and helping to disseminate results. Government for its part should act as a facilitator and promote greater collaboration between itself, industry, and research establishments.
Government will work to understand and improve stakeholder involvement in the research process generally, and will review the current mechanisms used to disseminate research results to farmers on the ground. The dissemination mechanisms may need to be improved, and we aim to increase the levels of knowledge transfer, and encourage the widest possible take up of best practice working.
One specific case where targeted research needs to be undertaken and disseminated is in the area of herd health plans. The herd health planning approach is central to improving animal health and welfare standards across Scotland, but we can only expect the industry to take this on enthusiastically if there is hard evidence to support the claim that it will be beneficial for their businesses. The Executive is commissioning specific research into this area of costs and benefits of better animal health and welfare.
4.2 Identification of costs and benefits of improved animal health and welfare
A common theme in the Strategy's consultation and the discussions about promoting animal health planning has been the importance of understanding the costs imposed by disease and the associated costs and benefits of their control. Reflecting this the Executive in conjunction with the other GB Agricultural departments and the industry is in the process of commissioning research in this area. The proposed research will consider a set of specific diseases for sheep and cattle with the aim of producing a generic methodological framework for estimating the costs and benefits of controlling diseases at farm level. Utilising the framework, estimates of the costs and benefits of controlling diseases will be produced. It is anticipated that this framework will be accessible to individual farmers, providing decision making support tools for farmers' use in identifying appropriate levels of animal health intervention.
Timetable: Contractor for the study to be appointed early in 2004 and framework produced by 2006.
4.3 International best practice
We want to ensure that we take advantage of any best practice currently used in other countries, which may be applicable to Scotland or GB. Sharing knowledge in this way is more efficient than duplication of research or time consuming 'trial and error', and we can potentially benefit from other countries' experience or expertise.
Government will contact a range of countries to obtain information on current practices of disease control and management, as well as funding measures. On the basis of interim assessment, certain countries will be chosen for more in depth analysis. Information on methods and systems of working which may be relevant and of use in GB will be presented in a report, to be circulated to stakeholders. Government and stakeholders will thereafter work in partnership to identify which best practice examples can be adopted here.
Timetable: Results of the study will be published in the final Animal Health and Welfare Strategy in spring 2004.
4.4 Best Practice at Home
As well as looking to other countries for examples of best practice, it makes sense to identify the many excellent examples of industry practice across GB, and disseminate information about these to encourage more widespread uptake of best practice. Government sees itself as having a facilitation role in this area, while industry members are clearly the ones actually carrying out best practice, and in this sense they will be the ones to ensure this approach is a success.
A working group will be established by early 2004, bringing together all key industry groups. Working with Government they will analyse examples of best practice, and identify the most effective ways of encouraging and promoting this among the industry.
Timetable: The working group should have begun sharing its information with the industry (in ways that will encourage and promote best practice) by spring 2005.
4.5 Veterinary medicines
The use of antibiotics as growth promoters for livestock will be prohibited under EU legislation from 2006. This is consistent with the precautionary principle generally, and is specifically aimed at reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens; this phenomenon clearly has the potential to cause major problems for the whole industry, and potentially for human health, if it is allowed to continue unchecked.
It is important that the industry is properly prepared for this major change in the European legislative framework, in order to be able to make a smooth transition without too much disruption. More generally, it is also essential to ensure that veterinary medicines are being used in a responsible, safe and effective way across the board.
A working group will be set up to prepare the industry for the new EU legislation and withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters in 2006. As part of this, Government in partnership with the industry will identify best practice for the responsible use of veterinary medicines. The result of this work will be fed back into other aspects of the Implementation Plan, such as animal health planning.
4.6 Training and advice needs
As part of its Executive supported programme of advisory support, SAC provides consultancy and guidance on animal welfare and biosecurity activities. The principle objective of this guidance is to increase levels of awareness, disseminating best practice within the industry.
In addition to this general support, the Executive has been working with SAC to develop a biosecurity training module which is available to higher and further education institutes and other colleges. The module is currently being adopted by these institutes as part of their programme of training. The focus of the module is to make candidates aware of the importance of biosecurity in reducing the risk of disease occurring or spreading to other animals. The module provides candidates with knowledge of the health implications (animal and human) of livestock diseases and the effect that exotic and endemic diseases can have on business productivity. Once the course has been successfully embedded, the Executive will be reviewing the usefulness of this approach with the Animal Health and Welfare Stakeholder Group with the view to developing a further programme of work.
In another strand of training and advice activities, the Executive has recently launched a
Whole Farm Review Pilot Scheme. Over the autumn / winter period of 2003 / 2004, this should enable over 250 farmers to access grant-aided advice on the key challenges facing their businesses, including any challenges to business sustainability arising from animal welfare issues.
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