Weekly BVA view
Find out the British Veterinary Association (BVA) view on issues currently affecting the veterinary profession
Each week we publish our views on an issue affecting the veterinary profession in our weekly journal The Veterinary Record
This week's topic: present and future PETS
With its recent 10th anniversary, the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is the subject of this week’s Veterinary Record.
The Scheme, in effect a temporary exemption from EU rules, is facing an uncertain future after it has already been extended once and will be considered again, possibly for the last time, by the European Parliament today. Drawn up by the European Commission, the proposal on the table envisages extension of the Scheme until December 2011 to ‘allow the EU Member States in which rabies still occurs to make adequate efforts to complete the eradiation of rabies within the EU’.
The proposal has the support of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe which calls on the European Commission to initiate an EU-wide echinococcosis risk assessment, to be followed by an appropriate prevention and control strategy. It also recommended further investigation into the spread of ticks and tickborne diseases in the EU and the development of a strategy to reduce the incidence of these diseases.
The BVA and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, while accepting the EU animal health policy must move towards harmonisation, remain concerned that the timescale is too short for the necessary assurances to be obtained. The difficulty is that, in many instances, data are lacking, which makes quantitative risk assessment difficult. This is particularly true in the case of E multilocularis and, given the public health implications of this parasite, it would seem wise to retain the existing controls until the necessary information can be obtained.
As the EU moves towards harmonisation, it remains important to strike the right balance between freedom of movement and protecting public and animal health.
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