October 24, 2007

Compensation in UK's FMD situation, difficult

Procuring damages from the double "foot-and-mouth-disease" outbreak in south England may be difficult for many British producers as it is hared to prove it in court when it comes to individual cases.

Julie Robinson, National Farmers' Union (NFU) chief legal advisor told Farmers Guardian that it is likely lawyers can prove that the outbreak was caused by a Pirbright laboratory.

The movement of restrictions and export ban, however, might prove difficult for farmers to obtain compensation through courts.

Robinson told the NFU council that the first stage was to establish who was in a position to claim from either Merial, the Institute for Animal Health, or Defra over biosecurity lapses at Pirbright that caused the outbreak.

A total of eight cattle premises were included in the FMD outbreaks in August and September of this year. The outbreaks have severely affected British livestock which resulted to numerous export bans.