This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cattle compensation proposals
01/11/2004
A faster response to any future outbreak of endemic disease will be made possible by new cattle compensation arrangements proposed today.
Animals suffering from contagious diseases, such as Bovine TB, Brucellosis, EBL and BSE, will be removed from the farm more quickly with the introduction of 29 categories to determine compensation rates - which would help efforts to stop the disease spreading.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said:
"We have set out our vision to raise standards of animal health and welfare across Scotland. Ensuring we are as prepared as possible to deal with any future disease outbreak is an important strand of the work of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy.
"These proposed changes to compensation levels will help simplify and rationalise payments for cattle affected by Bovine TB, EBL, Brucellosis and BSE.
"They will also make sure cattle suffering from disease can be removed from the farm with no delay caused by valuation, helping to control the outbreak more effectively and lessen the chance of disease spreading.
"To ensure the new system is fair and practical we are also considering setting up an industry advisory group to provide expert advice on the new system, and also help us take forward proposals to revise compensation arrangements for all animals affected by a notifiable disease."
A compensation system (based on table valuations) is proposed for the following cattle diseases: Bovine TB, Brucellosis, BSE and Enzootic Bovine Leukosis. To determine compensation payments, it is proposed to use a broad range of categories of cattle against which comprehensive market data will be continuously collected. This constitutes a first step towards the longer-term aim of introducing full rationalisation of compensation for all notifiable animal diseases.
Stakeholders are invited to respond to two broad questions; whether they have any comments on the proposed approach, and whether an advisory group on livestock valuations could play a useful role in helping the Department ensure its valuation systems are both effective and fair. Comments are also invited on the accompanying partial Regulatory Impact assessment and draft implementing Statutory Instruments.
This consultation takes forward issues raised as a result of an earlier consultation on proposals for rationalising compensation for notifiable animal disease control, which closed in January 2004.