This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scrapie compensation increased
21/01/2002
New legislation has been introduced that will increase the level of compensation for confirmed cases of scrapie.
Scrapie has been a notifiable disease since 1993 but the disease is under-reported. The new legislation, introduced on January 19, is designed to encourage farmers to notify suspected cases of scrapie amongst sheep or goats.
Payments are being increased from approximately £30 per animal to £90 - a flat rate payment of £30 will apply to cull females. The rate for suspect cases that are subsequently confirmed not to be suffering from scrapie will remain at the current market value with a ceiling of £400.
The Executive is committed to reducing and over time eliminating scrapie from the Scottish sheep flock. Consequently, the Scottish Executive, in partnership with Rural Affairs Departments in England and Wales, launched the National Scrapie Plan for GB in July 2001 and recently extended this to all owners of pure-bred breeding flocks and to producers who have reported scrapie since 1998.
There is a legal requirement to notify any sheep or goat suspected as suffering from scrapie. Flock owners should be diligent in looking out for signs of the disease and if suspected to report it immediately to their local Animal Health Office.
The Sheep and Goats Spongiform Encephalopathy (Compensation) Amendment (Scotland) Order 2001 (SSI No. 458) increases the rate of compensation for sheep and goats affected with any transmissible spongiform encephalopathy to £30 in the case of a cull animal and £90 for any other affected animal.
Although suspicion of scrapie has been notifiable since 1993, an anonymous postal survey of sheep farmers carried out in 1988 indicated that possibly only thirteen per cent of scrapie cases were reported. It is likely that one reason for the low reporting rate is the level of compensation paid in respect of confirmed cases of scrapie. The rates of compensation on offer to date have ranged between £9.68 and £29.44.
The Executive performed a public consultation on the proposal to increase the rate of compensation for confirmed scrapie cases on 9 October 2001.
The National Scrapie Plan (NSP) was launched in July 2001 with the aim of reducing and eliminating scrapie through a breeding for genetic resistance programme and a programme to tackle the disease in affected flocks. Further information on the NSP can be obtained from The Scottish Executive, Animal Health and Welfare 3, Room 345a, Pentland House, 47 Robb's Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY