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Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for the Countryside and Rural Affairs talks nonsense about vaccination against bluetongue disease.
James Irvine
Teviot Scientific, Cultybraggan Farm, Comrie, Perthshire
Filed 28 Aug 08
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The Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for the Countryside and Rural Affairs at Westminster has reportedly been talking less than sense about the timing of bluetongue vaccination in his constituency of Westmorland and Londsdale. According to Cumbria's Northwest Evening Mail, Mr Farron has been protesting that Cumbria should have been designated a bluetongue Protection Zone weeks ago, so that Cumbrian farmers could get better prices at their sales. This in spite of the known fact that there was not enough vaccine available. He seemed to have little grasp of the basic principles that govern the effective control of the spread, in epidemic proportions, of such a dire infectious disease of livestock as bluetongue (1).
Fortunately, the newspaper article carried a repost from a local farmer, Trevor Wilson, who had formerly been the chairman of the NFU in Cumbria.
Tim Farron would have served his constituency better if he had pressurised the Westminster Government to get on with placing a contract for the development and supply of vaccine against Bluetongue serotype 8 at a much earlier date than 20th December 2007. He should also have been spending his energies in lobbying for a change in the EC rules in relation to bluetongue vaccination in bluetongue disease-free zones such as Cumbria.
Sadly, John Scott, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment at the Scottish Parliament, did not do much better. His constituency is Ayr, in south west Scotland. He recently advocated the opposite, to what Mr Farron was on about. He wanted the programme of vaccination south of the Scottish border to be stopped, or at least delayed, until farmers in his constituency could do their customary trade with Cumbria and Northumberland. Even sadder, he was taking the illogical stance of NFU Scotland on the matter (2).
It seemed that neither the Shadow Liberal Democrat Minister in England nor the Shadow Conservative Minister in Scotland knew what they were talking about. It is therefore not surprising that they came to diametrically opposite conclusions. That is what is likely to happen when the basis for comment is what, in their view, might hopefully please the local voters, rather than what might protect their local voters from disaster. Do these senior politicians not have any competent advisers?
©www.land-care.org.uk
1. North West Evening Mail (2007). Disease vaccine too late to help farmers.
28th August 2008 Click Here to View
2. Irvine, james (2008. Bad EC rules lead to bad consequences: incredibly NFU Scotland calls for a stop to bluetongue vaccination
See HOMEPAGE, filed 20 Aug 08, www.land-care.org.uk Click Here to View |
