Belgium and Holland boycotting British cattle imports

I am gravely concerned by the unofficial boycott of British cattle imports by Belgium and the Netherlands as a result of the imports testing positive for bovine TB. These two countries account for more that 40% of all British cattle exports and this move is extremely disturbing. In light of the unofficial boycott by Belgium and the Netherlands, I will be writing to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barrosso, demanding that a full investigation is carried out into the legitimacy of the ban imposed by the two Member States and for the relevant action to be taken.

There are also talks in the EU Parliament of a move towards an EU-wide ban on exports of British cattle by the end of next week which is deeply worrying. The National Farmers’ Union is working with British officials in Brussels for any bans to remain voluntary. I am extremely concerned that if an official ban is imposed, it could take months for it to be lifted, and will have a terrible impact on the beef and dairy sector.

I am in full agreement with Kim Haywood, the director of the National Beef Association, who has described a Europe-wide ban as a potential “catastrophe” for the British cattle farming industry and agree with her assertion that the unofficial ban and the prospect of an official import ban is a direct result of the Government’s inability, or general unwillingness, to control bovine TB.

It is clear to me that the prospect of a ban on the import of British cattle to Europe is yet more evidence that the Government’s strategy for tackling bovine TB is not working. The Government desperately needs to stop dithering and move quickly against the disease by implementing all of the recommendations made by the 2008 report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee. Its failure to implement these recommendations, and in particular a failure to authorise limited culls of bTB infected badgers in the areas most badly affected by bovine TB’s rampage, means that the government is abjectly failing to serve both British beef, and dairy farmers.

The Government has repeatedly ignored my calls and those of other colleagues to take urgent action to properly tackle the disease, not only for the sake of the beef and dairy sectors, but also for wildlife, where the reservoir of infection is leading to misery for the animals concerned.

I regard any ban on the export of British cattle to the EU as a disaster on the horizon for British beef and dairy farmers, and will be doing all I can to both pressure the government to adopt a serious bTB strategy, and ensure that an EU ban on the import of British cattle is not implemented.

Comments

[Paul D]

Europe bans our beef again, more for the home market, the price comes down

Finally some good news for consumers

Less good for farmers though

[Chris Blore]

The only thing to do is to fight fire with fire. I suggest a precautionary ban on the import of Dutch cheese and flowers and Belgian chocolate!

[cosmic]

Doesn't an "unofficial boycott" amount to no more than Dutch and Belgian farmers have reason to suppose that cattle imported from the UK have a significant chance of carrying Bovine TB and they don't want it? They're making a rational purchasing choice. It may be against EU rules, but I don't see that they can be forced to buy things they don't want, especially when they've made a reasoned decision.

The culprits here are Nu Labour and Defra and the gathering crisis with Bovine TB is the consequence of a good decade of epic incompetence and dithering.

[Richard North]

The EU may have very little option and, in the longer term, a ban could have the beneficial effect of forcing this loathsome government finally to take effective action on bovine TB. See this analysis.

[Sheepdog]

Daniel, Cosmic and Richard North are all completely correct. The ban, legal or otherwise, of British cattle and calf sales in Europe will be a serious blow to prices and the financial sustainability of the dairy and beef sectors in this country. And Richard North may be correct in that action on badgers imposed from the EU might just be the only solution. For as sure as God made little green apples, you can be absolutely certain that a badger cull would not happen under this government if it was left to its own devices.

My only point of mild difference with Richard is that Defra offials are almost certainly not the culprit in all this. My understanding is that after years of meetings with defra officials and Chief Veterinary Officers, the NFU and others have repeatedly got to the point where everyone around the table (except the badger groups) is in agreement. But when the decision is finally made (and there have several such points over the last decade) the minister or Secretary of State refuses to allow a cull and institutes yet another delaying tactic. In other words the refusal to cull is purely political and is not a departmental one. (Don't misunderstand me, Defra is the embodiment of all that is incompetent and wrong with this government, but in this case, I really cannot blame the officials).

The big question is why? What is the ministerial motive? They know the consequences of failing to make an unpleasant decision well enough because they have been told repeatedly. They can see the taxpayers' bill rising daily. They know that Defra's budget is being trimmed elsewhere to pay for this debacle of their own creation. What is it that they are so afraid of that they cannot cull a relatively small number of badgers in the West Country hotspots? Are they afraid, or are they hoping to gain something?

Knowledgeable suggestions or leads would be appreciated.

[Ceidwadwyr]

The only reason they're doing nothing is because it will look unpleasant when reported in the MSM.
So much for Browns courage and 'the tough choices he wont shy away from'.

[cosmic]

Sheepdog,

I'm sure the answer to this came out when the question was discussed before. The Labour Party has received funds from the animal rights/welfare movement and at the present time the LP is skint. Furthermore the LP and a large proportion of their supporters are more or less in sympathy with the animal rights/welfare view of things anyway. So, they take a route which may cost the nation a fortune and disrupt the livelihoods of thousands, but it's only public money and they are not their voters.

The LP does what it thinks is best for it, not what's best for the nation. If they are forced to take action by the EU, they can say they were only following orders.

I think it's that simple and that cynical.

[Susan]

And why isn't this reported in the newspapers or on the tv news? The philosophy of 'keep the people ignorant; keep the people docile' won't work. And yet that's what the government and the EC does at every turn. It really won't wash. Politicans must wake up, shake up and represent the electorate rather than those who pay their expenses.