The Scottish Government

Scottish Animal Health and Welfare Conference Report
25 October 2004, Birnam Institute, Perthshire

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Contents

INTRODUCTION
AIM
THE WAY FORWARD
SUMMARY
Q1: WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DOES THE STRATEGY PROVIDE IN ITS 10 YEAR LIFESPAN TO IMPROVE ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE?
Q2: WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 PRIORITIES THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN SCOTLAND?
Q3: WHAT RISKS ARE THERE THAT MAY PREVENT THESE OPPORTUNITIES FROM BEING EXPLOITED?
Q4: WHAT AREAS SHOULD BE TARGETED FOR FORTHCOMING RESEARCH?
Q5: HOW CAN COMMUNICATIONS BE IMPROVED BETWEEN ALL STAKEHOLDERS?
Q6: ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC SECTORAL ISSUES FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE?
ANNEX A: GROUP ATTENDEES
ANNEX B: GLOSSARY

The Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Great Britain was launched in June this year at the Royal Highland Show. It sets out the principles and roles and responsibilities for continually raising standards of animal health and welfare over its 10 year lifespan.

The Scottish Animal Health and Welfare Conference was held on 25 October at the Birnam Institute, Perthshire. It was attended by around 100 delegates (Annex A) from a variety of organisations with an interest in animal health and welfare from Scotland and other countries. The main objective of the conference was to inform the Executive and other stakeholders about the main priorities for taking the strategy forward in Scotland. Five speakers were invited to give their views on the key challenges and opportunities arising from the strategy, and stakeholders were invited to give their input through breakout groups. The speakers were as follows:

• Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development;
• John Cameron, Industry Stakeholder;
• Quintin Mackellar, Veterinary Profession Stakeholder;
• Julie Fitzpatrick, Research Stakeholder;
• John Don, Welfare Stakeholder.

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This report:

• provides a record of the conference and the key points discussed in the breakout groups;
• provides information on the key priorities as seen by stakeholders. This information is to inform not only the Executive, but also all other stakeholders. It is designed to be circulated by stakeholders to their members.

Inevitably there was a degree of duplication in the views recorded by the different groups across the range of questions but in recording the conference proceedings accurately this has not been adjusted.

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In his speech, Mr Finnie announced that an Advisory Group is being set up to consider how the strategy will be taken forward in Scotland. This group will contribute to identifying priority diseases for targeted action, taking on board new developments in science and medicine and horizon scanning. The conference report will be made available to members of the Advisory Group.

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The following section summarises the responses to a series of questions given to delegates of the conference. Oral contributions received on the day and several written contributions received after the event have been incorporated.

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Partnership

It is essential that government continues to work in partnership with stakeholders. The strategy provides an excellent opportunity to bring a wide range of stakeholders together. Everyone must participate in delivering the strategy, and representative organisations must cascade information down to their constituent members. Meetings such as the conference, where opportunities arose to discuss issues in depth, were regarded as an excellent way to maintain contacts and play a major role in setting the agenda. Scotland is ideally placed in this respect due to its relatively small size and good level of interaction between the Executive and stakeholders.

Education

Education can make a strong contribution towards achieving the proactive culture that is called for. For the producer to be motivated, they must understand exactly why certain actions are beneficial. This may mean new education programmes, but what is already available must also be considered. The veterinary and scientific communities have an important role to play in disseminating new information and best practice.

Consumers/Labelling

Consumers must be informed about the impact of their consumption choices. This could be achieved by proper labelling of all food in supermarkets and restaurants to identify the origin and welfare status of the animals from which the food was produced. If consumers can be persuaded of the value of higher standards of health and welfare, this could act as a driver through increased demand for good quality food. This will increase the ability of the Scottish farming industry to compete in world markets.

Information/Best Practice

Animal keepers are interested in proactive disease control measures, but they must be confident that the action they take will have a positive impact on profitability. More research into the costs and benefits of disease control would be universally welcomed. Case studies, for example BVD in Orkney, could be a useful way of providing supporting information. Further case studies could be set up advised by experts and monitored by practising vets. The information provided from case studies would be an interesting subject to be covered at the annual conference. Feedback of information from the abattoir to the farmer about the disease status of his slaughtered livestock would help highlight the effectiveness of the control programmes.

Knowledge transfer must be improved, particularly with regard to best practice. Monitor farms are a useful way of achieving this.

There is an opportunity to maximise the impact of all advice and legislation by making sure it is consistent and not contradictory.

Animal Health and Welfare Management

Animal Health and Welfare Management will provide a strong boost to standards as long as animal keepers can see the benefits. Vets, who will be involved in drawing up annual plans, need to be well trained in how to do this.

Incentives

Financial incentives must be put in place to convince animal keepers to buy in to the strategy. A big factor influencing the uptake of schemes is their impact on cost of production. Recognising that budgets are limited, pump priming would seem to be a sensible use of resources, for example with animal health and welfare management. Agriculture must be seem to be viable in the long term for people to stay in the industry.

Baseline/Targets/Milestones

The strategy allows the flexibility to find the right policies for Scotland, but it is important to have feedback against initial standards to measure progress. Although it is recognised that there are practical difficulties, a baseline of health and welfare standards must be established. Clear, unambiguous targets must be set with milestones to check progress. Health and welfare indices must be developed to facilitate monitoring of the strategy. Both short and long-term objectives should be focussed on, the former to ensure that there is observable progress; the latter to deal with more complex issues. A pilot project to identify disease priorities should be considered.

Risk Reduction

All in/all out systems to better manage disease should be encouraged by underwriting farm income during a period of non-production. Accreditation or certification of herds and flocks should be encouraged. A nucleus of herds and flocks from pedigree animals should be developed as a reservoir for replacement animals. The away wintering of animals should be controlled.

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Priority setting is a key part of the strategy. Each group was asked to identify the top 3 priorities for Scotland, and this section summarises all of those identified.

Control/Eradicate Disease

Controlling and eradication of diseases such as CLA and TB must be considered as being of the highest importance. In the short term, there should be a focus on addressing endemic disease problems building on/re-invigorating existing campaigns such as the sheep scab initiative - benchmarking and target setting if possible. In the longer term, there should be a focus on prevention. We need to address more complex problems, including the collection of appropriate surveillance data on health and welfare.

Education

More emphasis should be placed on the promotion of the overall benefits of improved food quality. Producers must be educated of the benefits that the strategy offers them. Examples of this include information on the benefits of disease control/eradication in terms of efficiency and profitability, and the results of surveillance.

Producers should be kept informed of any relevant research and provided with facts as well as the perceived benefits. As well as being kept up to date with new technology this will also enable informed, proactive decisions to be made. Findings on cost/benefit analyses, discussions of results from surveillance, progress of the strategy and research in general could be communicated at meetings such as the conference or through focus groups. Ideally, cost benefit analyses on specific disease control measures should be available at the individual farm level.

Education should not just be restricted to the producer; consumers should also be targeted and their awareness of animal health and welfare issues increased.

Training

It is vital that training is made available on basic animal health and welfare. The value of a skilled and knowledgeable stockman cannot be underestimated, particularly in detecting the first signs of any disease/health/welfare issues. The provision of basic veterinary training along with preventative veterinary training and advice is considered an essential tool in disease detection/treatment. Involving vets/producers more through farm visits to anticipate problems before they arise would benefit producers financially. On welfare, guidance on humane end points for animals should be produced.

Surveillance

Vets must be on farm more often to provide an increased level of surveillance. High quality active and passive surveillance is an essential component of any database of the health/disease status of livestock in Scotland. This has benefits in terms of benchmarking, horizon scanning, and assessment of the specific costs involved with disease, including control measures. Good record keeping of health and welfare will contribute to highlighting these trends. Feral and wild animals should not be excluded from disease monitoring, as they also carry diseases which can have a large impact.

Science

Priority should be given to research which focuses on issues and problems that impact on producers and productivity. A two way relationship between researchers and end users of research should be promoted. In this way, priority problems and issues can be established, which can feed into priorities for new research. Researchers can benefit from feedback on the practicalities and efficacy of the solutions they provide.

It is essential that best our scientific resources are used as efficiently as possible to maximise their potential. All those involved with research or surveillance should co-ordinate better to make sure that work is carried out by the best placed organisation. Where possible, opportunities for streamlining and amalgamation should be exploited.

Sustainability

If the sustainability and profitability of the livestock industry is improved, this will provide benefits to the strategy. Land Management Contracts and Animal Health and Welfare Management have the potential to be an effective tool in promoting and supporting this sustainability.

Exotic Disease

The integrity of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy will be adversely impacted if the national herd/flock is exposed to exotic disease. To guard against this, adequate security measures at the numerous points of entry to Scotland (and the UK) must be established and/or maintained. Customs and Excise must continue to play an important role in policing illegal imports of meat.

Finance

If there are to be any additional costs, they must be appropriately and affordably balanced between all stakeholders. It is important that financial incentives are provided to producers in order to secure a good uptake of the strategy.

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Resources

If there is not adequate funding, our ambitious objectives will not be deliverable. Funding may not be flexible enough to adapt to new and emerging threats. The capacity for carrying out laboratory tests may be insufficient if it is not enhanced.

The loss of key people at the applied and practical end would make delivery very difficult. Such people include MHS, farmers, vets (both new and experienced), and nutritionists. In particular, the supply of large animal veterinarians in remote areas and near our cities must be maintained.

The livestock sector must be perceived to be viable if the vision and objectives of the strategy are to be achieved. If the value of animals falls too low, keepers are much less likely to take an interest in their health and welfare. If the strategy places too much of the burden of its costs on animal keepers, it will not succeed. All cost sharing must be appropriate and affordable.

Agriculture in Scotland is the backbone of the country. In the context of the Single Farm Payment, its viability must be supported and protected. If it is not, the negative repercussions will affect the entire nation now and in the future.

Buy-in

Lack of participation and belief in the aims, visions and objectives of the strategy will lead to inactivity and apathy. Farmers need to be involved through the use of carrots, not sticks. For example, if it is not obvious why farmers would want to buy in to a disease surveillance system, uptake will be low.

Inertia

There is a tendency to have too much talk and not enough action. It may be helpful to have a less diffuse focus and to concentrate on a few high priority areas where improvements can be made. At the moment, there is political will in Scotland to drive through higher standards, but there is concern as to what would happen should that political will disappear.

Enforcement

With all the best will in the world, if enforcement is not strong enough then improvements will be hard to make. If individuals are not held to account (or take responsibility) for specific aspects of the strategy then it will fail. Animal Health and Welfare Management is one example where enforcement needs to be carefully considered. It would be unsuitable for the local veterinary surgeon, for example, to act as an "enforcer" of their commercial client due to potential conflicts of interest.

Imports

If illegal imports are not kept out of the country, the strategy will lose credibility and people will not buy in to it. A perception that the strategy is having a negative impact on our ability to compete internationally will also be damaging.

Training

Without training, skilled staff and effective continuing professional development (CPD), many of the aims of the strategy will not be deliverable.

Part Time Farmers/Hobby Farmers

Part time farmers may often lack the time to take a proper interest in the health and welfare of their animals.

Companion animals are now numerous and include horses, sheep, goats and pigs as well as dogs and cats. They all may pose potential risks of zoonotic infections and welfare issues. Wild/feral animals also interact directly with farm animals and may harbour and spread infection.

To combat this, the issue of whether it would be necessary/desirable to licence producers was raised. After some discussion the consensus was that this might be a step too far at this stage. The slightly lesser step of registering farmers/producers may be preferable.

Data/Surveillance

If data does not take account of the different characteristics of the different sectors, the information it provides will not be useful. There are also data sharing issues - data must also be available to all those who can make use of it, but contributors must have their anonymity protected.

Welfare

Welfare is a central issue to the strategy and should not be neglected. There is a danger that the focus on welfare issues will be lost due to the less quantifiable impacts of its general and economic benefits.

Coordination/Communication

There is a risk of failure in coordination of all parties including producers to the extent that effort may be unnecessarily duplicated or wasted.

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Research should be closely linked to priorities identified for raising standards of animal health and welfare. There is a need for more applied agricultural research. Gaps in existing research should be addressed, for example the gap between what BBSRC fund and what SAC does.

Diseases

Research into finding new/novel vaccines for the control of animal diseases (TB and CLA in particular), development of improved diagnostic tools, and a greater understanding of the risks and epidemiology of diseases should be a major priority. Endemic diseases and avoidable conditions are a major cause of economic loss and poor welfare. These continue to be important areas deserving of support, particularly in the short term where they can be readily quantified and may yield rapid answers. It is essential to get quick wins to promote buy in to the strategy. Diseases identified as a priority are as follows:

Cattle

Johnes - disease and potential risk to humans
Bovine Tuberculosis
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea

Sheep

Caseous Lymphadenitis
Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis
Sheep scab
Fluke
Worms - also resistance to wormers

Horses

Strangles
Scour

Pigs

Post-Weaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome

Exotic diseases also continue to be a concern, and there is strong demand for a more effective FMD vaccine.

Best Practice

If best practice is to be promoted, there must be a comprehensive evidence base to back up that practice. A buying in stock guide for all animals should be produced.

Cost Benefit Analysis

More information on the relationships between production, health and welfare should be produced. It is essential that a greater understanding of the economics of health and welfare is promoted.

Welfare

At the moment, not enough focus is placed on animal welfare. This is partly due to the fact that it is difficult to quantify how good or bad the welfare of an animal is. Any research into a measure of welfare would be most welcome. Furthermore, it would be much easier to persuade animal keepers of the need for higher standards of welfare if a link between welfare standards and productivity could be established.

The impact of journeys on animal welfare is also poorly understood. It would be useful to know exactly what impact journey times have on welfare. More research into whether it is the quantity or quality of the journey that is the most important factor.

Knowledge Transfer

Sectors should customise their priorities and approaches to education/KT based on a common basis of data collection and research

Systems/behaviour/genomics

Research is required into the genetic resistance of animals to disease. This should aim to promote the breeding of robust stock but avoid the breeding of animals that might be resistant to one condition but more prone to another. Production of animals with genetic patterns suitable for different systems is also in demand. Easy care animals are a subject of interest.

Organics

The rules for organic farming are too constricting. They should be adjusted to encourage the use of vaccination in improving health and welfare of stock which would in turn reduce the need for the use of pharmaceuticals in cases of emergency.

Surveillance

The prevention of illegal imports is a key priority. Surveillance is of key importance, and greater use of MHS data needs to be made available. The MHS should expand its remit to provide abattoir info on all species, especially sheep.

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One Stop Shop

Animal keepers want a one stop shop from all those that provide advice to them. All those providing advice to animal keepers need to find some way to make sure that the advice they provide is consistent. If different people are saying different things, the impact of the message will be lost and inertia is the likely result.

Face to Face Contact

There needs to be more contact with livestock keepers on their own premises. Vets need to be on farm more often. Those who give training to animal keepers should try to do so on the animal keeper's premises as much a possible, as this kind of training has the greatest impact. Monitor farms are a good example of where face to face contact can help get across the message of the costs and benefits of disease control.

Media

Newsletters are seen as a good way of improving communications, both from industry champions and from government. A quarterly newsletter providing a progress update on the animal health and welfare strategy is one possibility. SEERAD should consider sending newsletters to both farmers and veterinary practices highlighting new developments. Moredun and SAC should continue to send out their newsletters. Greater use of the specialist press should be made. Use of television shows, such as Landward, could be a possibility.

CDs

CDs with PowerPoint presentations (as used in the Scab Awareness Programme) could be supplied to veterinary practices for showing to farmers or at farmers meetings.

Maps

Maps of disease hotspots are a useful tool for representative organisations to pass on to their members. It is hoped that RADAR will make such maps more readily available.

Conference

The annual conference was highlighted as a useful mechanism to share information. Some felt that it might be useful to have a more focussed, specific agenda rather than the broad brush approach adopted for this conference.

Existing forums

There are already potential focus/ discussion groups in existence that should not be ignored as a means to improve information flows and buy-in.

Action

Some felt that whilst there was room for improvement in communications, they are in general quite good in Scotland. The best way for us to create buy in is to deliver real, tangible results.

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Positive Example

The ruminant sectors could learn a lot from the pig and poultry sectors, for example the "Wholesome Pigs" initiative.

Inclusiveness

The strategy is a strategy for all animals, and as such should not forget sectors such as fish/aquaculture (which are a major contributor to Scotland's economy), horse (also a big part of the rural economy), and companion animals.

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Group 1

Chair:
Charles Milne - CVO (Scotland)

Rapporteur:
Helena Mauchlan - BHS

Members:
Pat Glancey - RHA
Michael McAvoy - DARDNI
Erin Elvin - SEERAD
Nigel Miller - NFUS
John Bell - NBA
Anthony Bates - SEERAD
John Gregor - ANM
Glenys Stacey - SVS
Lucy Hansen - R(D)SVS
Barti Synge - SAC
David Kennedy - Moredun
John Don - FAWC

Group 2

Chair:
Ian Anderson - SEERAD

Rapporteur:
Bob Carruth - NFUS

Members:
Charlie Moir - SVS
Liam McKibben - DARDNI
Scott Lees - SEERAD
Patrick Lambert - National Beef Association
George Milne - National Sheep Association
Allan Murray - Scottish Equestrian Association
Sandy Clark - BVA Scotland
James Callion - R(D)SVS
George Gunn - SAC
Mike Flynn - SSPCA
Stewart Gemmell - SAC
David Taylor - Glasgow Vet School

Group 3

Chair:
Sheilagh Brown - SVS

Rapporteur:
Andy McGowan - QMS

Members:
Gillian Bain - COSLA
Andy Peddie - NFUS
Hamish Waugh NSA
Alastair McGugan - DCS
Murray Hardy - Scotbeef
Frank Stephen - BVA Scotland
Vince Molony - R(D)SVS
Colin Penny - R(D)SVS
Rick D'eath - SAC
David Henderson - FAWC
Belinda Jenkins - WAG
David Pugh - SVS

Group 4

Chair:
Ian Strachan - SEERAD

Rapporteur:
David Buxton - Moredun

Members:
Freda Scott-Park - BVA
Jennifer Howie - FSA
Peter Morris - NSA
Chris Laurence - Dogs Trust
Philip Flanders - RHA
Mike Robson - BVA Scotland
Michael Cockram - R(D)SVS
Pete Goddard - MLURI
Paddy Grant - SVS
Ken Laughlin - Aviagen
Robert Houston - CVO (Northern Ireland)

Group 5

Chair:
Nick Ambrose - SEERAD

Rapporteur:
Alistair Lawrence - FAWC

Members:
Veryan Nicholls - DEFRA
Ian Duncan Millar - Farmer
Daniel Beltran - Genesis Faraday
Tim Bailey - QMS
Pauline Anderson - Aberdeenshire Council
Norman Winter - SVS
Robin Anderson - IAAS
John Sproat - BVA Scotland
Richard Halliwell - RCVS
Lynne Matheson - Soil Association Scotland
Julie Fitzpatrick - Moredun
Jean du Toit - Grampian Chickens
Leonora Merry - SSPCA

Group 6

Chair:
Neil Ritchie - SEERAD

Rapporteur:
Alistair Donaldson - SAMW

Members:
Derick McIntosh - SVS
John Cameron - Farmer
Gordon McKen - Grampian Pig Producers
Graeme Cochrane - SVS
Pauline Munro - Fish Health Inspectorate
Linda Lowseck - Sheep Veterinary Society
Hamish Lochore - ILPH
Willie Blair - IAAS
Sam Duff - Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons
Quintin McKellar - Royal Veterinary College
Ron Roberts - Landcatch
Chris Low - SAC
Rob Morris - SEPA

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Diseases

BVD - Bovine Viral Diarrhoea
CLA - Caseous Lymphadenitis
CODD - Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis
FMD - Foot and Mouth Disease
PMWS - Post-Weaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome
TB - Tuberculosis

Organisations

ANM - Aberdeen & Northern Marts
BHS - British Horse Society
BVA - British Veterinary Association
COSLA - Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
CVO - Chief Veterinary Officer
DARDNI - Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland
DCS - Deer Commission for Scotland
DEFRA - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
FAWC - Farm Animal Welfare Council
FSA - Food Standards Agency
IAAS - Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers Scotland
ILPH - International League for the Protection of Horses
MHS - Meat Hygiene Service
MLURI - Macaulay Land use Research Institute
NFUS - National Farmers Union Scotland
NSA - National Sheep Association
QMS - Quality Meat Scotland
RCVS - Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
R(D)SVS - Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
RHA - Road Haulage Association
SAC - Scottish Agricultural College
SAMW - Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers
SEERAD - Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
SEPA - Scottish Environment Protection Agency
SSPCA - Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
SVS - State Veterinary Service
WAG - Welsh Assembly Government

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