1h ago
NFU Scotland chiefs believe more veterinary members will help to improve resilience to disease threats.
Allister Webb
Job Title
A farming organisation is opening its doors for vets to join its ranks in a bid to help build resilience to current and future disease threats.
NFU Scotland leaders said experiences from the ongoing bluetongue crisis have highlighted the need for “stronger vet-farmer networks” and work to develop them should start now.
Chief executive John Davidson said: “Farmers, crofters and vets bring different expertise and perspectives, but ultimately share the same objective: healthy livestock and a resilient agricultural sector.
“By establishing networks and cementing relationships now, we can ensure the sector is better prepared for whatever comes next.”
The union’s call is based on what it said was “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from a series of meetings it organised for livestock industry stakeholders after the first Scottish bluetongue case was reported in August.
Since then, 46 other incidents have been confirmed in Scotland, mostly in Dumfries and Galloway. However, cases have also been recorded in Aberdeenshire, Angus, the Borders and South Lanarkshire.
More than 3,000 incidents have been confirmed across the UK during the current bluetongue season so far, and Mr Davidson said the need for enhanced collaboration, communication and planning between practices and the farming industry had been brought into “stark focus” by the outbreak.
But he also stressed veterinary input had been central to the discussions at its meetings, both in helping farmers to understand the measures they could implement to protect their own herds and flocks, as well as by influencing the development of the Scottish Government’s response to the outbreak.
Latterly, the union was one of several organisations Holyrood officials listed as supporting the extension of its bluetongue restricted zone to the whole country before its implementation earlier this month.
Mr Davidson said: “This experience demonstrates the value of establishing stronger vet-farmer networks. A more united agricultural supply chain is better equipped to share trusted information quickly and deliver a more consistent response when circumstances escalate.”
He argued there was a “real opportunity” to build on that work and that doing so was vital amid continuing uncertainty about both the longer-term impact of the present outbreak and the possibility of new strains or different diseases brought about by changing climate conditions posing different threats.
Mr Davidson added: “We must learn from this experience to strengthen future crisis responses and build greater resilience across the sector.
“That preparation depends on relationships being established before they are put to the test. This is why NFU Scotland is calling on vets operating in Scotland to join the organisation and help build stronger connections across the agricultural supply chain.”
Vets who are interested in joining can sign up now via the NFU Scotland professional membership webpage.
