§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they took following the warning from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on 22 September 2000 that "without 90WA effective veterinary service animal disease could spread globally"; and [HL1538]
Whether they believe the staff and resources in the United Kingdom veterinary service concerned with disease prevention were adequate to respond to the situation highlighted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation. [HL1539]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)FAO press release 00/154 quoted a senior FOA animal health expert who said that veterinary surveillance systems and services are vital to detect these [transboundary animal] diseases early enough and to prepare contingency plans to contain those outbreaks. The United Kingdom is fortunate to be served by a professional and effective State Veterinary Service. Before the outbreak there was a contingency plan for foot and mouth disease (arid other animal diseases). The plan was submitted to the European Union in 1993 and has been updated as necessary since then.
It has to be recognised that the size and scale of the foot and mouth outbreak is unprecedented. The question of how well the outbreak was handled is one which the independent inquiry chaired by Dr Iain Anderson will wish to consider.