UK is 'not prepared for animal diseases'

THE UK Government is not properly prepared for the growing risk from animal diseases and would struggle to cope with a major outbreak, the spending watchdog has warned.

- EMILY BEAMENT

Animal diseases such as bird flu, bluetongue and African swine fever can pose serious threats to the farm-ing sector, food security, human health and wildlife, and costs associ-ated with an outbreak can spiral into the billions of pounds, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.

While farming is devolved, any major disease outbreak in England would likely also have a major impact here in Wales.

The 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease cost an estimated £13.8bn in today’s prices, with farm-ing businesses devastated, thousands of animals slaughtered and the coun-tryside shut to recreation and tour-ism.

And 7.2 million birds have been culled in avian flu outbreaks since 2020, which have also devastated wild seabird colonies across the UK.