The Health of Livestock and Honeybees in England

HC 366, Thirty-sixth Report of Session 2008-09 - Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

Author:

House of Commons - Public Accounts Committee

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

The incidence of Bovine Tuberculosis and of honeybee losses continues to increase, and the actions by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (the Department) to tackle these issues cost £80 million and £1.5 million respectively in 2007-08.

Around 39 commercial crops grown in Great Britain, with an estimated value of some £200 million a year to the agricultural economy, rely on insect pollination. Despite their importance to the agricultural economy, the Department has given little priority to bee health and recent funding increases will be diluted by including research into other pollinator insects as well as honeybees.

Nearly 80% of cases of notifiable disease in England are identified through inspections. However the effectiveness of these inspections is hampered because around half of the estimated 37,000 active beekeepers in England have not joined the Department's voluntary register, BeeBase.

Other conclusions and recommendations set out in the Committee's report include:

• Bovine Tuberculosis has a major foothold in England and Wales, particularly in the South West. Between 2002 and 2007, on average 16,500 cattle were slaughtered each year as a result of the disease.

• The Department is not enforcing the cattle testing regime rigorously.

• The reservoir of disease in wild animal populations is thought to play a significant, although unquantifiable, role in disease incidence but more rigorous bio-security measures might help to limit the impact.

• The Department has made little progress in setting out recognised standards for bio-security and in sharing the costs of tackling disease with those farmers who do not maintain proper farm bio-security or who fail to practise good animal husbandry.

The March 2009 National Audit Office report on this topic (HC 288, ISBN 9780102954654) is available to buy separately, please see below.

Extent	35 pages	ISBN	9780215539922
Size	A4	Price	£10.00
Binding	Paperback	Published	14 Jul 2009
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges

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