BVA North of Ireland Dinner - BVA President Nick Blayney's Speech
Galgorm Manor, 21 November 2007
Minister, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is my very great pleasure to welcome you to the North of Ireland dinner of the British Veterinary Association. Tonight is the first time for a number of years that we will have the pleasure of an address from a local Minister and we thank you Minister for giving us that opportunity.
This year saw the BVA Congress coming to Belfast for the first time for many years as part of the celebrations of the North of Ireland Veterinary Association’s centenary. It was a very successful Congress in all respects.
It was a chamber for an interesting and varied exchange of ideas, from contentious political debate on matters as diverse as European Animal Health legislation and the mental health of the profession together with an excellent programme of world class CPD, delivered by leaders in their field.
And as if that weren’t enough, the social programme confirmed the well-deserved reputation of your famed Irish hospitality, from Bushmills to Belfast Castle. From comments received, the event was enjoyed by all. Attendance levels were exceptional and the support from our colleagues on this side of the water was truly gratifying. I am also personally grateful for their contribution to my speech this evening, the first formal speaking engagement of any new BVA President’s term!
As I am sure you are well aware, Minister, we face an increasing threat from epizootic disease. Who would have imagined ten years ago that the UK would be trying to cope with not one epizootic disease, but three simultaneously: or that there would have been two outbreaks of FMD within the space of a few years when the previous outbreak was 40 years previously.
The appearance of Bluetongue is surely an indication of the potential for climate change to extend the geographical range of insect-borne diseases. As Dr Joseph Domenech, the chief veterinary officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said recently “No country can claim to be a safe haven with respect to animal diseases”. This is particularly significant as many of these diseases will be zoonotic diseases such as West Nile Fever or Chikungunya, both insect vector borne.
The issue is a world wide one, a fact recognised by the World Health Organisation, which recently announced that the theme for World Health Day in 2008, the WHO's 60th anniversary year, will be “protecting health from climate change” and also articulated by the director general, Dr Margaret Chan, who said, “We need to put public health at the heart of the climate change agenda.” I was very heartened to learn from my colleagues here that in Northern Ireland you are aware of the potential of our profession to be an important factor in preparing for these increasing animal disease threats of the future.
I was also very interested to learn of your concern for your rural communities and the tremendous efforts you are making to ensure they remain a vibrant part of the society of Northern Ireland. In Great Britain we sometimes feel that DEFRA has focused on the environment at the expense of agriculture. It is refreshing to see how you have linked environmental issues with development of the rural communities.
Vets are part of those communities and face not only many of the challenges but also see the effects of those challenges on our clients and their animals. We believe that vets have much to contribute, more than is currently being availed of. Veterinary surgeons have an obvious and key role in surveillance, control and research relating to animal diseases and diseases of public health significance, more so than ever. This is true not only in exotic disease but also other more mundane animal diseases, whose prevalence may change as the result of climate change such as liver fluke and haemonchosis.
The recent Red Meat Strategy Report paints a rather depressing picture for beef and sheep producers in Northern Ireland. We feel that there are issues of food security and food production that are being overlooked by Government. Looking to the future there will be increasing demands from developing countries for both biofuels and protein. This will redirect much of our current food supplies to those countries and it would be prudent to consider how we should address that issue. If I may be so bold I would suggest that, in future, beef from Brazil may not be an issue for the EU, other than the lack of it.
We also believe that vets can have a potential role in environmental issues more directly; Whether by advising on the environmental impact of different animal production systems, minimising wastage caused by animal disease, or by optimising animal feeding regimes and helping to find new uses for waste, thereby helping to reduce animals' contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
So I believe we have much more to offer rural communities than is currently utilised and we do urgently need to consider how to maintain rural veterinary practices if we are indeed to be able to deliver our potential to those communities.
I would urge Government to join with us to consider how we might develop our relationship so that we can continue to provide those much needed services and develop new ones to our mutual benefit and to the benefit of those rural communities, and to the Nation. In Great Britain we have been working towards this with Animal Health, previously the State Veterinary Service and at last there is some indication of progress in our contractual arrangements - but it has been painfully slow. Part of that arrangement is TB testing and I understand that in Northern Ireland this aspect of our work has recently been reviewed. We believe that the current arrangements provide Government with value for money and while we are very willing to work with you on many of the recommendations, we have serious concerns that proposals to try and distance vets from their clients because of a perception of conflict of interest are more likely to reduce our effectiveness than provide any perceived benefit.
Continuing on the TB theme, the British Veterinary Association welcomes Sir David King’s view that in TB endemic areas removal of badgers should take place alongside the continued application of controls on cattle. It seems eminently sensible that, since the science clearly shows that both species are significant in the spread of disease, both must be tackled if TB is to be controlled and eradicated.
We do not believe that there is a ‘one size fits all’ solution to be applied. Control policies specifically tailored to regional variations in disease risk are essential. Ultimately however I would reiterate the profession’s genuine commitment to an overall strategy designed to successfully control tuberculosis both in cattle and in the wildlife population.
And so Minister, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion: we look forward to this profession continuing to play its part in the affairs of your province, contributing to animal health and welfare and thereby the health and prosperity of its people.
Address by the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Michelle Gildernew MP, MLA
For further information contact Chrissie Nicholls or Helena Cotton at the BVA Press Office:
Tel: 020 7908 6340
E-mail: chrissien@bva.co.uk or helenac@bva.co.uk
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