MPs fear lab cuts raise farm virus risks

The Efra committee has written to Farming Minister Jim Paice saying that it had uncovered “worrying evidence” about the effect of proposed closures of animal health laboratories.

The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) plans to cease carrying out diagnostic testing at its labs in Thirsk in North Yorkshire, as well as Truro and Langford, from the end of the month.

However the Efra Committee claims that this “may risk a reduction in the Agency’s ability to diagnose important animal diseases”.

“We received worrying expert evidence that the transport of animal samples to distant laboratories, following the closure of AHVLA sites, will lead to a deterioration in samples with an associated risk of failing to diagnose animal disease.

“In addition, there is a risk that the Agency will lose key specialist skills,” said Anne McIntosh, Thirsk and Malton MP and chairwoman of the EFRA Committee.

The view tallies very much with that of many animal health experts, with the head of the British Veterinary Association using a key speech last week to call for a change of course from Government on its decision.

The committee also stated that the announcement of the laboratory closures had been taken without sufficient consultation from those who will be affected.

The call is made as Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) – a virus causing birth defects in cattle, sheep and goats – continued to spread to farms across the country. A total of 145 cases of the disease, which initially appeared to be confined to the country’s South, have now been identified – including on farms in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Midlands. No cases have been reported in Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Post approached the AHVLA for comment but received no response.