Bates urges farmers to take action so £3million worth of Bluetongue vaccinations do not go to waste (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

Bates urges farmers to take action so £3million worth of Bluetongue vaccinations do not go to waste

March 24, 2009 12:00 AM

Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Spokesperson for Rural Affairs, Mick Bates AM, has added his voice to calls by the NFU for farmers to vaccinate their animals against the Bluetongue virus, so that £3million worth of vaccinations do not go to waste as stocks may have to be thrown away if farmers do not vaccinate their animals by June.

Montgomeryshire AM Mick comments:

"I welcomed the extension of the bluetongue protection zone last September to cover the whole of Wales and I was pleased that the Minister ordered 7.5m doses of the vaccine to help combat this disease. It is now crucial that farmers play their part and proceed to vaccinate their animals so that millions of pounds of vaccinations do not go to waste.

"It is disappointing that the uptake of vaccines is only around 23% in Wales, which means that there is a lot of unprotected livestock. In Scotland the compulsory vaccination programme includes a commitment by the Scottish Government to pay half the manufacturing costs of the vaccine and uptake in Scotland is around 40%.

"As the temperature rises the midges which spread this disease become more active, so it is crucial that farmers take action now to protect their livestock. I hope that the Minister will examine ways to encourage farmers in Wales to vaccinate their cattle as farmers livelihoods may be at risk it they don't take preventative action now."

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