The following is the text of a letter from the Chairwoman of FAWC to Mr Elliot Morley MP, dated 12 May 2001.

FAWC Extraordinary Council Meeting

As you know, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) held an Extraordinary Council meeting on Friday, 4 May. The meeting was called with the single issue of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) on the agenda. We addressed the animal welfare concerns arising out of the outbreak, many of which you and I discussed when we last met. We also gave thought to the problems yet to emerge. I will summarise the key conclusions from our meeting below. Naturally, we shall be providing more in-depth responses on most of these topics in due course.

Livestock movement control

It must be acknowledged that the impact of livestock movements in the early stages of the outbreak had a significant impact on the scale of the FMD outbreak. However, the Council was concerned that the introduction of a strict 20-day standstill on livestock movements might undermine the viability of the sheep industry with the consequent welfare concerns this raises. We consider that a policy of imposed standstills should be carefully thought through with the many practical problems addressed in detail before implementation. We will respond in detail to the consultation paper.

Identification of individual animals

It was the unanimous view of Council that an essential element in the enforcement of animal movement control is effective identification of individual animals, particularly sheep. We recommend that MAFF should urgently commission field scale studies of technologically promising methods of identification (e.g. electronic tagging and retinal identification) to establish the practical applicability of such methods. We were particularly attracted by the option to link retinal methods with geo-positioning via satellite (GPS); this offers a reliable was of tracking sheep movements and is worthy of further urgent investigation.

Vaccination

In mid-April, the Council gave rapid advice on the welfare implications of vaccination in response to your Department's draft proposals. We advised that, for the policy to be welfare-neutral, it is essential that vaccinated animals be treated in the same way as non-vaccinated animals, i.e. be equally eligible for human consumption. We also emphasised that adequate slaughter capacity must be available within vaccinated areas in case live vaccinated animals should be unable to leave the area prior to slaughter. The Council confirmed its full support for this rapidly generated advice.

Livestock Welfare Disposal Scheme

Whilst acknowledging the achievements of the various welfare schemes introduced, we recognised that the greatest welfare problems lay with non-infected animals trapped by the outbreak. Also that there is a need to ensure that welfare is effectively balanced against disease control. The LWDS was established to relieve these problems but failed, especially at the outset, to deal rapidly with the high priority needs. FAWC proposed that a scheme of Welfare Vouchers may have been more effective in dealing with problems as an alternative to slaughter and compensation. Such vouchers could have been used to obtain fodder and other much needed support, thus having a greater beneficial effect across the country. We believe that such a welfare scheme, rather than a disposal scheme, would have appealed to the most needy of farmers during the crisis.

Planning and resources

While recognising that the current outbreak has exceeded the scale which might have been predicted by your officials, we believe that formal planning in liaison with all relevant parties and periodic rehearsal of procedures would have ensured faster progress towards alleviating welfare problems. The reduced numbers of State Veterinary Service personnel available to deal with the outbreak and the lack of an adequate regional advisory structure were also identified as crucial limiting factors in relation to welfare.

Review in the aftermath

The Council was unanimous in its view that a major review in the aftermath of the current outbreak of FMD is essential, and that the remit should be wide-ranging. Animal welfare will constitute an important element of such a review, and FAWC looks forward to making its contribution to the lessons to be learnt by fully participating.

In preparation, our Slaughter Working Group is already addressing the welfare issues relevant to slaughter operations during an outbreak. Initial concerns include availability of competent personnel and equipment. The preparations necessary for large scale killing operations in the field are areas that should be planned, rehearsed and regularly reviewed. Particularly, there is a need for highly trained slaughtermen able to competently lead killing teams in the field. Reward of slaughter teams by quantity rather than quality of work, as is currently the norm, is a major concern to the Council. A licensing system for competent slaughter in the field should also be considered.

In addition to preparing our evidence for this major review, our Markets and Transport Working Group is looking at issues relating to the role of markets post FMD in order to inform the specific review currently being carried out by Animal Welfare Division at your behest. The initial feeling of the Group is that a focus on livestock marketing practices, and how these influence movements of animals, would be more appropriate than simply considering the markets themselves. The Group is also likely to recommend tighter enforcement of existing markets and transport legislation.

Council also felt it very important to capture the experience of FMD and mass field killing now, while it is still going on. Photographic and video records as well as detailed documentary evidence should be collected. There are many lessons to be learnt and this opportunity must not be lost.

Looking to the future, we see many potential problems associated with inadequately controlled and managed restocking procedures. Disease control will be difficult, especially with the current reduced State Veterinary Service, and many new welfare problems are likely to emerge if effective avoiding measures are not taken rapidly.

I would also remind you of the policy, launched by FAWC a year ago, that consideration of "Welfare Standards of the food we eat" provides opportunities for society to express concern about farm animal welfare in a manner which does not destroy the competitiveness of welfare friendly farming practices. We have promoted this view widely over the last twelve months and we see further opportunities for this to gain wide acceptance in the aftermath of FMD.

The policy will be emphasised by our Working Groups reviewing Farm Assurance Schemes in its interim report this summer. The FMD outbreak has highlighted further issues that the Farm Assurance Schemes Group will wish to consider in depth before it delivers its final report; these include the impact of retailers on transport, markets and slaughter practices; biosecurity in food production including in the catering trade; and the desirability of Livestock Producer Licences.

Finally, you will recall that we are holding our Annual Open Meeting, in London, on Friday, 8 June. In the current climate I confidently expect many questions to be raised pertaining to the FMD outbreak and the welfare issues arising from it. FAWC will always firmly and robustly condemn all welfare abuses. However, we will also highlight good welfare practices and the useful input that individual Council members, and the Council as a whole, have offered and continue to offer in the development of welfare policies during and following this outbreak.