Import dangers

IMMIGRATION has already proved to be a typically combustible issue during this election campaign. For Britain's farming community, however, the political damage it causes is the least of their worries. Immigration of a very different kind is threatening their livelihood.

The destructive bluetongue virus has re-emerged as a major problem because of the high numbers of animals imported here from countries where the disease is rife. A group of farmers, described as "thoughtless and selfish" by vets – and no doubt the sensible majority of people working in agriculture would agree – are risking a recurrence of the 2007 outbreak of bluetongue.

This is not a looming issue but a current one. A major increase in livestock imports has seen 5,000 animals come to Britain in the first three months of this year. Yorkshire's hard-pressed farmers cannot afford another outbreak of bluetongue, however, because their existence is already under threat from cheap foreign competition and years of Government under-support.

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In the short-term, farmers should follow the advice of the British Veterinary Association and vaccinate and revaccinate their stock and consider whether they need imports. More needs to be done in the long-term, however, by Government because, once again, immigration has proved a major concern.