New Animal Health and Welfare Board the right mechanism for policy making, say vets

Commenting on the announcement by Defra that a new Animal Health and Welfare Board for England will be set up in response to a report by the Responsibility and Cost Sharing Advisory Group, Harvey Locke, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said:

The BVA is delighted that both the Advisory Group and Ministers have taken note of the veterinary professions views in drawing up these plans.

We said from the outset that genuine responsibility sharing has to be achieved before cost sharing can be discussed and we warned against earlier plans to separate animal health policy from animal welfare policy, as the two are intrinsically linked.

Animal health and welfare policy issues require expert, scientific input and it will be essential that the new Board includes veterinary representation. We believe that the Board will provide the right mechanism for ensuring decisions are based on sound science.

The new Board will also have to work closely with the three devolved administrations to ensure that animal health and welfare policies across the UK are joined up and complementary.

1. The Defra announcement, Written Ministerial Statement and Terms of Reference for the new Animal Health and Welfare Board for England are available on the Defra website http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/animals/diseases/sharing/

2. The BVAs Past President Professor Bill Reilly was a member of the Responsibility and Cost Sharing Advisory Group, chaired by Rosemary Radcliffe, which reported in December 2010.

3. For more information or to request a copy of the BVAs consultation response on responsibility and cost sharing, please contact the BVA media office on 020 7908 6340 or media@bva.co.uk