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| Defra must work
with farmers on biosecurity, says MP |
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Honeybees have been hit hard by
parasites and disease in recent years, but Defra still lacks a complete picture of the situation |
Commenting on Commenting on the publication of the Commons public accounts committee’s report into the health of livestock and honeybees in England, South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, a member of the committee, said:
“Unless serious animal diseases are brought under
control quickly, they pose significant threats to human health, animal
welfare, the economy and the environment”. |
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“The economic consequences are also devastating for individual farmers and their families”. “Common standards on biosecurity would help farmers and beekeepers to minimise the risk of animal diseases spreading, but it is important that Defra does not try to impose standards by diktat. Defra must work with farmers to agree practical and achievable standards”. “The importance of protecting the UK’s honeybees cannot be overstated, as we depend on these creatures to pollinate crops. Honeybees have been hit hard by parasites and disease in recent years, but Defra still lacks a complete picture of the situation”. It is worrying that Defra cannot explain why there have been over 8,000 reported outbreaks of notifiable bee diseases in England over the last decade, yet only three in Scotland. Defra should work with beekeepers and inspectors to establish the reasons behind the high incidence of disease south of the border”. Mr Bacon was speaking as the Commons public accounts committee published its report into the health of livestock and honeybees. The report finds that adapting rigorous biosecurity standards could limit disease impact and incidence, but that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has made little progress in establishing minimum biosecurity standards. The report recommends that Defra and its agency, Animal Health, should work with the farming industry to develop biosecurity standards appropriate to different livestock sectors. 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. English beekeepers have reported unusually high losses of honeybees in recent years, but regular inspections of honeybee colonies enable Defra to monitor the health of colonies and the incidence of disease and parasites. 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. The report also finds that Scotland has little reported disease, with only three detected cases in the last ten years, compared with 8,071 in England and 463 in Wales.
14 July 2009 See also: 
PAC REPORT:
The health of livestock and honeybees in England
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| © Richard Bacon 2010 | ||||||||
