July 13, 2006

UK animal producers mull insurance scheme against diseases
 

In 2001, after more than 10,000 farms in south-western England were hit by foot-and-mouth disease, UK's government paid out almost GBP8 billion (US$14.7 billion) in compensation for the culling that ensued.

As the saying goes, once bitten twice shy. Since then, the government has vowed never to pick up the tab for farmers in any future outbreaks, arguing that the industry would have to share the burden of any such future events.

Stewart Houston, a pig farmer who has been the co-chairman of a joint industry working group with the government, said reducing the risk of disease outbreaks is now of paramount importance and that the industry and government working together is the way that this goal would be achieved.

This would mean that the industry would have to take full responsibility in managing disease risks and farmers being prepared to pay a share of the costs, Houston said.

An annual insurance levy against both exotic diseases and those native to the UK might be a solution, Houston proposed.

Still, any such legislation may be at least two years away and proposals are only at the consultation stage.

Meanwhile, DEFRA (Department of Farms and Rural Affairs) has been understandably evasive about what it do if such an outbreak were to happen now. One thing is clear, another huge payout is not on the cards.

However, farmers are pointing an accusatory finger at lax controls at the airports. By the government's own admission, illegal imports of meat and associated products, the probable source of the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis, could be close to 30,000 tonnes annyaly.

Andy Robertson, the chief executive of NFU Scotland, said while the farming industry accepts its responsibilities on disease control, the government has its own responsibilities as well. NFU does not agree that the government can pass on the costs of controlling disease outbreaks to farmers before it has attempted to prevent the same problems from entering the country in the first place, Robertson said.