Press Release - Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs: The health of livestock and honeybees in
England
4 March 2009
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs has successfully tackled recent outbreaks of Avian
Influenza and Foot and Mouth Disease in livestock, concludes a
National Audit Office report today. But in regions where
diseases or parasites have become well established within the
country, such as Bovine Tuberculosis affecting cattle or the Varroa
mite affecting honeybees, the Department has been less successful
in managing them.
The Department and its Animal Health agency
successfully contained outbreaks of Avian Influenza and Foot and
Mouth Disease in 2007, which were both restricted to a limited
number of farms. The estimated £33 million expenditure by Animal
Health in 2007-08 on dealing with these exotic disease outbreaks
has represented good value for money when compared to the economic
costs of these diseases becoming more widespread.
The control of some of the more serious
endemic diseases has been managed less successfully. Good progress
has been made with the control of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE), Scrapie and Salmonella. Bovine Tuberculosis is a
longstanding problem in the South West of England, and the disease
has continued to spread. In 2007-08, tackling Bovine
Tuberculosis accounted for 39 per cent of Animal Health’s total
expenditure. Herd restrictions are applied immediately when
disease is identified, but compliance with the requirements for
routine testing to detect disease is not rigorously
enforced.
There are no national standards on farm
biosecurity to minimise the risk of diseases spreading. The
Department, Animal Health and other inspection bodies, such as
local authorities, do not systematically collect and share
information about biosecurity risks. More effective planning
and collaborative working would enable better control of endemic
disease.
Beekeepers have reported unusually high losses
of honeybees in recent years and, now that the Varroa parasite is
endemic, honeybee colonies are more vulnerable to other diseases.
Controlling Varroa and monitoring of other diseases is hampered by
the limited inspections of colonies carried out by the Department’s
National Bee Unit. An estimated 20,000 beekeepers are not known to
the Unit’s inspectors and are less likely to notify the Department
of any diseases.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
“Defra eradicated outbreaks of Avian Influenza
and Foot and Mouth Disease in 2007 before they could spread
further. But Bovine Tuberculosis and the Varroa parasite continue
to pose significant risks to the livelihoods of farmers and
beekeepers. The Department could tackle disease more
effectively by working with farmers and their vets to improve farm
biosecurity, and by enforcing compulsory testing as well as
encouraging beekeepers to register.”
Notes for Editors
-
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs’ lead delivery body is Animal Health. Local authorities
share the responsibility for enforcing animal health and welfare
legislation with the Department. The Department spent £381
million on animal health and welfare in 2007-08, of which £107
million went to Animal Health.
-
Endemic parasites and diseases are those
always present amongst domestic animals or wildlife. Exotic
diseases are not always present.
-
There are currently 34 notifiable exotic
diseases which may threaten kept animals. In 2007 there were
two separate outbreaks of Avian Influenza which affected poultry,
an outbreak of Foot and Mouth which affected cattle, sheep, goats
and pigs and an incursion of Bluetongue which infected cattle and
sheep.
-
The National Bee Unit, which is part of the
Central Science Laboratory, oversees the health of honeybees in
England and Wales. It received £1.3 million funding in
2007-08 from the Department.
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Varroa is a parasitic mite which affects
honeybees. The mites feed on both adult bees and brood,
weakening them and helping to spread viruses. Infested
colonies usually die unless they are treated. Since its
discovery in England in 1992, Varroa has become endemic in the
UK.
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Press notices and reports are available from
the date of publication on the NAO website, which is at
www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can be obtained
from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
-
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr,
is the head of the National Audit Office which employs some 850
staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of
Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government
departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he
has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other
bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 14/09
All enquiries to Sarah Farndale, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 5350
Mobile: 07985 274 421