Responding to the approval of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) negligible risk status in both Scotland and Northern Ireland, announced following a meeting of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris yesterday (25 May), British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said:
“Scotland and Northern Ireland’s achievement of the lowest risk level status for BSE is testament to the years of hard work and joined-up efforts of the respective governments with their farmers, industry and vets – who are pivotal to the success of any disease control programme.
“We must of course continue to work together keep up high standards of biosecurity and surveillance in order to safeguard animal health, which is vital to both countries’ economies.
“This is excellent news for Scotland and Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry, especially as we look ahead at the trade deals which will need to be forged in the coming year or two, further demonstrating that our beef is produced to a high quality and standard of animal health for consumers in the UK and across the world.”
