WILLIAMS CHALLENGES BENN OVER ON-FARM BURIAL

9.42.23am GMT Mon 2nd Mar 2009

Roger Williams MP, Liberal Democrat Food and Rural Affairs Spokesperson and Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, has challenged Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, during this morning's Oral Questions in the House of Commons, over the current rules for on-farm burial.

Mr Williams said:

"The current regulations surrounding on-farm burial and the collection of fallen stock are particularly burdensome on the farming industry.

"Statistics show that the presence of BSE in the national herd is very low and the most recent figures show that out of the 18895 fallen stock that were tested for BSE, only 1 tested positive and out of all cattle tested, 78351 in total, just one was positive for BSE.

"So I called upon the Secretary of State to review the current regulations and act in any way possible to reduce the regulations imposed on farmers.

"The sheep farming sector, particularly in Wales and particularly during the lambing season, is hit hard in the pocket by the requirements placed upon them and it is essential that the Secretary of State takes all necessary steps to reduce the cost to farmers.

"DEFRA has this year cut all support to the National Fallen Stock Scheme (NFSS), whereas last year they provided funding of £45m. This accounted for roughly 20% of NFSS funds and it means the cost of on-farm collection has effectively risen by 20%.

"These changes may well affect farmer's ability to continue to be good environmental guardians, and could potentially impact upon animal welfare as well.