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Scottish Executive pulls plug on
Crofters Commission grants for
bulls and rams
Dr James Irvine
Teviot Scientific at Cultybraggan Farm, Comrie,
Perthshire
Filed 18 Apr 04
©www land-care.org.uk
The farming press are united in their condemnation
of the Scottish Executive's action in withdrawing grants with immediate
effect which previously enabled crofters to improve their livestock
breeding by using bulls and rams bought by the Crofters Commission.
Indeed it was a common sight at the pedigree sales at United Auctions,
Perth that the Crofters Commission bought a substantial number of
bulls that could go the rounds of numerous crofts each with too
few cattle to justify purchasing bulls of their own and sufficiently
often to avoid in breeding.
While the quality of the crofters' livestock will
certainly have improved with this scheme, there has to our knowledge
been no mention in these critical press reports of the risk that
such a scheme must carry in relation to spreading disease in livestock.
Livestock animal health is a matter of increasing
concern. Bulls or rams that are bought for the purpose of effectively
being hired out to go onto multiple holdings must pose a health
risk. United Auctions, Perth claims that it operates to a high health
status, but to Land-Care's knowledge health status schemes were
only introduced into pedigree sales at Perth after a group of concerned
cattle breeders from Orkney complained about the lack of it. Orkney
is renowned for its cattle health status.
Perth Auction Mart now claims high health status
of the pedigree bulls that it auctions, but it would do well to
spell out just exactly what that health status is and how it can
be so sure of the accuracy of what it claims.
However, even if a bull purchased by the Crofters
Commission - or anyone else interested in hiring out bulls - had
perfect health status, that status may be lost once it had visited
a number of herd units and possibly picked up a disease or two on
the way.
By definition a bull that is sold through an auction
mart must loose its closed herd status, if it had been born and
bred on a closed herd holding. Such a bull would meet too many other
bulls from too many other holdings in close contact over a period
of two or possible more days.
Closed herds are one of the most effective ways
of reducing livestock diseases. If one of the main reasons for the
Scottish Executive withdrawing this Crofters Commission scheme was
concerns about animal health, then the Scottish Executive should
consider stipulating that the bulls for the Crofters Commission
should be bought from closed herds whose health status has been
carefully monitored. The Auction Mart may still play an important
role in tracing such herds, evaluation of individual animals and
formalising the deal.
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