Should Animal Health be Kept at Arm’s Length From Government?

Every week we give a British Veterinary Association view on issues concerning the veterinary profession which we publish as editorial comment in The Veterinary Record. The issue this week (December 13, 2008) concerns a presentation from Defra at the BVA’s Council meeting in London last week on its consultation document on sharing the costs and responsibilities of animal health.

The consultation, while due to be published before the end of the year, could be delayed or subject to change, currently has two main elements

* First, Defra is considering establishing a new body which will operate ‘at arm’s length’ from Government and be responsible for animal health in England (although not animal welfare, responsibility for which is to remain within Defra) either in the form of a non-ministerial department or a non-departmental public body.

While the new body will be responsible for determining policy on animal health, existing agencies such as Animal Health, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate will, as at present, be responsible for policy delivery.
* The second main element of the proposals is to create an additional revenue stream for animal health through compulsory registration of livestock keepers.

BVA has itself previously suggested that animal health and welfare might usefully be overseen by a non-departmental body but there was some consternation among Council members at the suggestion that animal health and welfare should be separated – not surprisingly, as the two are interdependent.

Council was also concerned about the consequences of policy development and policy delivery moving further apart, about how efforts would be coordinated and who would take control in the event of a serious disease outbreak and about how things would work in the devolved administrations, disease being no respecter of national boundaries.

Again, BVA has previously argued that, if a levy system were to be pursued, it should apply all along the food chain, including the retail end and include incentives to reward good practice. Sadly, neither of these aspects seems to feature in the proposals currently being considered by Defra.

The full editorial comment is available on the BVA website every week at:
http://www.bva.co.uk/public/documents/comment.pdf

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Tags:  Animal Welfare