Chief Vets Highlight GB Cattle Health, Welfare Progress
UK - The latest state-of-the-industry report examining the health and welfare of cattle in Great Britain has identified significant progress across key areas of mastitis, lameness and longevity, and for the first time looks in depth at the issues facing the dairy and beef sectors around antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
23 November 2016
2 minute read
This third biennial offering from GB’s Cattle Health and Welfare Group (CHAWG) also contains a summary of progress on endemic disease control with advances in eradicating Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in each country particularly highlighted.
The Chief Veterinary Officers of UK, Scotland and Wales have welcomed the publication of the report saying that as the possible impacts of the referendum on leaving the EU are considered, the importance of a GB focus on disease control is as important as ever.
“The healthier our animals, the more attractive our products. The better our animal welfare, the greater the confidence of consumers in our production systems,” say Nigel Gibbens, Sheila Voas and Christianne Glossop in their joint foreword.
“With the UK Government placing AMR at the top of its risk register alongside terrorism and pandemic ’flu, it is heartening to see that CHAWG, in common with other livestock sectors, has grasped the nettle in looking first at how the cattle sector can better capture data on use of antimicrobials.”
They go on to say that addressing AMR helps address other imperatives as an emphasis on sound animal husbandry and healthy animals kept to high welfare standards will help minimise routine reliance on antimicrobials.
Chairman of CHAWG Tim Brigstocke says the contributed comments are encouraging and provide positive direction for future CHAWG activities. He also reassures that while this report sees a number of advances in highly topical areas, ‘core’ activities are not being ignored.
“Effective farm health planning remains the bedrock of good practice. And while we tend to focus on areas which need improvement, it’s worth mentioning that a delegation from the Food & Veterinary Office (FVO) of the European Commission recently visited and were impressed by the coordinated approach taken in this country,” says Mr Brigstocke.
TheCattleSite News Desk
