Virus fears spark call for a clearer picture

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “Anecdotal reports from France and other areas of Europe suggest Schmallenberg may be causing more problems in its second year than expected, possibly because livestock does not develop the level of immunity anticipated.

“The lack of statistical evidence means we cannot predict if we will have an ongoing problem, but the industry as a whole should be very concerned by the absence of data we have and what has been seen in some early lambing flocks.”

The virus has largely been confined to the south of the country but outbreaks have been recorded in Yorkshire and further north.

An NSA spokesperson said the AHVLA and other Government agencies are only collecting data on the distance the disease has spread and do not gather any additional information once the disease has been confirmed in a county.

“This means there is a concerning lack of data on the level and scale of the problem – a situation that is unlikely to change because of financial constraints created by the Government spending review.”

Speculation has mounted that the AHVLA would be forced to collect the data if Schmallenberg was a notifiable disease, but the NSA believes this would not be in the interest of the industry, due to the implications it would have on trade between UK and other countries, both in the EU and further afield.

Mr Stocker added: “It would be great if the Government could collect this data, so we better understood the situation and how to implement control strategies, including vaccination programmes once a vaccine is available.

“However, given the reality of the situation, the NSA feels very strongly that industry should pull together and ensure a solution is found.

“AHVLA has expressed a willingness to advise on what information to seek from farmers, and the NSA believes it and other organisations should take up this offer and offer a reporting service for sheep, beef and dairy farmers in the hope of collecting enough data to create a clearer picture.”

The NSA has had preliminary discussions with a number of organisations and hopes to move things forward in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the National Farmers Union has advised that confidence must be maintained within the sheep industry if the country is to exploit the strong global demand for British lamb.

Like many others in the agricultural industry, sheep producers have endured a challenging year due to a poor summer and a longer finishing period and are now seeing lamb prices fall markedly.

But according to NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe, these are short-term factors and it is essential that processors and retailers take a long-term view of the market and avoid sending out further negative signals to farmers.