Farming leaders reiterate call for the suspension of livestock imports

The leaders of NFU, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union today jointly reiterated the call for a suspension of live cattle and sheep imports from infected areas in Continental Europe because of the threat of bluetongue.

Commenting after a joint meeting in Brussels, the leaders said: “The risks to the beef and sheep sector from imported stock carrying BTV8 or BTV1 are huge. Because of this we urge the Government to suspend all imports of live cattle and sheep from these areas.

“We are conscious that the EC is also looking at changing the bluetongue zones. We want to look closely at the details of that, but our strong principle is to reduce the risk of contracting bluetongue while maintaining a strong market inside the UK.”

The farming leaders also discussed EID, cost and responsibility sharing, the EU pesticide proposals, the implementation of the recent CAP Health Check, and the implications for farming of the current credit crunch on retailer and banking behaviour.


Note to editors - list of attendees:

Peter Kendall NFU President, Richard Macdonald NFU Director General,
Dai Davies NFU Cymru President, Mary James NFU Cymru Director, Clarke Black UFU Chief Executive, Jim McLaren NFUS President, James Withers NFUS Chief Executive, Maeve Whyte BAB Director

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