NEW CAMPAIGN 'WILL HELP PROTECT FARMERS AGAINST BLUETONGUE'

8.22.00am GMT Thu 27th Mar 2008

A campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the cattle disease bluetongue, and to encourage local farmers to take part in the upcoming vaccination programme, to stop the disease spreading. Twelve farming groups, including the NFU, together launched the Joint campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB).

The viral disease has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of cattle across northern Europe, with first cases arriving in the UK last autumn. DEFRA has placed an order for 22.5 million vaccines, the first phase of which will be available from May.

Speaking today, Euro-MP Liz Lynne, LibDem European Agriculture Spokesperson for England and Wales, said:

"Although the bluetongue vaccination programme will be voluntary, I strongly encourage farmers to get their cattle protected against this terrible disease once the vaccines finally become available from May.

"If 80% cattle are vaccinated within the protection zones, the programme can be effective and some degree of normality can be maintained in our livestock industry. The alternative does not bear thinking about; we all remember too well the sight of cattle being destroyed in the wake of the Foot and Mouth crisis.

"This new campaign is there to inform farmers about the disease and how its progress can be halted. I strongly encourage local farmers to find out more and do what they can. The many different organisations supporting JAB show the importance of getting on top of bluetongue before it is allowed to harm British agriculture further."

DEFRA has attracted criticism from the NFU amongst others for the relatively late development and distribution of the vaccines, which was caused in part by the government's Pirbright laboratory being shut down for a time, after a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak was shown to have originated from a leak from the facility.

ENDS