Action demanded to cease terrifying illnesses reaching the UK | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Urgent motion has been demanded to guard the UK from a number of illnesses with the potential to devastate British farming and jeopardise meals provide. Outbreaks of foot and mouth illness in Germany and Hungary and the “advance of African swine fever across Europe” come as farmers wrestle with the unfold of avian influenza and bluetongue virus.

There is deep concern concerning the sale of “bushmeat” on social media and the potential of bovine TV to trigger devastation. Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins has written to her reverse quantity in Government, Steve Reed, urgent for assurances.

She writes: “Defra’s own figures predict that African swine fever could cost the UK £100million, and there are concerns from the industry that this could be more and would be catastrophic for the UK pig sector. We already know foot and mouth disease in 2001 cost the UK £14.7billion in today’s prices.”

She needs random inspections on the Port of Dover and has demanded assurances in a number of areas so the nation’s biosecurity services are ready to counter any menace.

A Government spokesman mentioned: “We will do whatever it takes to protect our nation’s farmers and food industry from an animal disease outbreak.

“That is why we’re investing more than £200 million to set up a new National Biosecurity Centre, working with Port Health Authorities to tackle the growth threat of illegal meat imports, and placed immediate restrictions on animal products from Germany, Hungary and Slovakia to prevent an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

“We will continue to work closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to protect our biosecurity.”