VACCINATION rather than mass culling of livestock should be Australia’s response to foot and mouth disease (FMD), according to livestock biosecurity experts.

Addressing an MLA biosecurity breakfast in Brisbane on Tuesday, the three speakers endorsed vaccination over the ‘triple D’ response – “destroy, dispose and decontamination”.

One exception, however, could be small localised outbreak, said Dr Peter Dagg: “If we have a very localised, a very small outbreak – if that happens – then we might not use vaccine. Slaughter will be a component in the hot spots where the disease is actually identified on an infected premises.”

Animal Health Australia’s head of AUSVETPLAN continued: “The strategy is more about movement controls because FMD is a contagious disease, so it’s all about movement controls and restricting the  potential spread of the virus.”

He stressed the availability of vaccine for Australian livestock producers. “We have a vaccine bank held over in the UK and they will make up vaccine and move it to Australia within seven days of us requesting it, if we have an outbreak,” he said.

MLA’s program manager of animal wellbeing, Dr Michael Laurence said: “I don’t believe culling animals would be the way to control foot and mouth, should it come into Australia. Vaccine will be the first line of defence.”

 

Sue Webster / Beef Central  

British lamb has now been exported to the United States for the first time in over 20 years, in a deal estimated to be worth £37m in the first five years of trade.

The first consignment since the deal was struck last year was flown to the US this week, containing lamb produced by processors Dunbia from its site in Carmarthenshire.

A ban on British lamb exports to the US had been in place since 1989 due to concerns around BSE, commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’.

The small ruminant rule that banned the product was rescinded by the US government in January of this year.

The industry estimates that the US market will be worth £37m in the first five years of trade, opening up access for farmers to a market of over 300m consumers.

Andrew Smyth, commercial director at Dunbia said: “As the largest processor of lamb in the UK, it is imperative we continue to have access to new and emerging international markets, and we welcome the small ruminant rule amendment.

“We continue to work closely with AHDB to identify and develop new market opportunities for our quality British produce.”

 

Farming UK

AHDB Pork’s weekly pig prices, slaughter data for Great Britain

The EU-spec GB SPP increased by 0.36p to reach 200.37p/kg for the week ended October 1, following the previous week’s 0.21 backward step, the first since February.

The previous week’s reverse was from a relatively small sample due to the bank holiday held for the Queen’s funeral. Pig producers will be hoping the return to an upward trend is a sign of things to come, with average costs – estimated by AHDB at 221p/kg for August – still above average prices, and many businesses continuing to lose money on a weekly basis.

Recent market reports have been of ‘flat demand’ for British pork products, as trade data shows a substantial increase in pork imports during the first seven months of this year.

There was a big weekly drop in estimated clean pig slaughterings, reflecting the extra bank holiday last week, as the Queen’s funeral was held.

The APP was down by nearly a penny for the week ended September 24. At 202.68p/kg, the gap between it and the SPP was just 2.67p.

The gap between the EU and domestic prices is key in terms of the UK pig market outlook. In the week ended September 25, the EU reference price was 185.46, following steady increases since mid-August on the back of tighter EU supplies. This narrowed the gap to the UK price to just over 14p, compared with more than 30, not many weeks ago.

 

AHDB / Pig World

Farming Minister Mark Spencer has said he will push for small abattoirs to be able to benefit from earned recognition in order to reduce veterinary presence.

His comments came shortly after John Mettrick, owner of the multi-award winning Glossop-based butchers J W Mettrick, closed his abattoir because the staff walked out on account of the ‘constant scrutiny’ they faced.

The workers left after trading figures meant the business moved from requiring part-time to full on-site official veterinarians (OVs).

Mr Spencer told attendees of the NFU fringe event at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham: “I have already met with the Food Standards Agency. I think what we need is a risk-based approach.

“In my retail business, the environmental health officer inspects every two years. As long as when they do inspect, they find a premises which is clean, tidy, well-documented and abiding by all the rules, they come back on a less regular basis.

“If I have made a mistake, they will come back more often. I think we need to apply a risk-based system to our abattoirs so it does not require a veterinary surgeon to be there 24-7.”

 

by Abi Kay / Farmers Guardian

Exports of livestock by sea will cease from April next year, following a 2019 review of the trade in response to concerns around the ongoing risk to New Zealand’s reputation.

The Bill, which passed in Parliament today, does not cover the export of live animals by air, for which the travel times are much shorter.

Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor said the move will protect the country’s reputation for world-leading animal welfare standards.

“The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill future-proofs our economic security amid increasing consumer scrutiny across the board on production practices.”

O’Connor said the objective of that review was to provide New Zealanders with an opportunity “to reflect on how we can improve the welfare of livestock being exported”.

“Our primary sector exports hit a record $53 billion last year, delivering us economic security.

“That result is built on our hard-earned reputation and this is something we want to protect.”

“The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee supported the ban. There are different opinions on its long-term value among farmers, how it affects New Zealand’s commitment to animal welfare, and our image in the eyes of international consumers.

He said the impacts on export flow would be small in the context of total primary sector exports.

“Live exports by sea represented approximately 0.6 per cent of primary sector exports last year.”

 

NZ Herald

 

 

Abu Dhabi: Provacuno, a Spanish beef interprofessional association, organised a delegation of top UAE beef importers to visit several Spanish plants and farms as part of its Wonderful Beef 2.0 campaign as a trade mission.

Participants learned about the safety and quality of EU/Spanish beef, which follows a strict and safe European production model.

Five UAE Beef importers – namely Excellence Meats LLC, Hope Gourmet, Parker Migliorini International Food Trading LLC, Sunlife General Trading LLC and Unique Seven Star General Trading LLC – participated in a 4-day trade mission which was conducted in Spain.

On the first day, the group of UAE importers travelled to a renowned cattle farm, which stands out at the national level for being one of the largest producers of calves born and raised on its own farms through the development of homogeneous lines in breeds, sexes, conformations, and fat.

The participants learned about Spanish Beef, which emphasized productive capacity and extensive control from the source to create a recognized quality meat. This farm also selects specimens with exceptional characteristics from the “Aquitaine Blonda cattle breed” and are given special care in the breeding process.

On the second day, the UAE participants travelled to Buñol, Valencia and toured a massive 55,000 square meter Slaughterhouse facility in Buñol (Valencia). This facility has a slaughter line for up to 100 animals per hour, a cutting plant and veal with a capacity of 130 tons per day, a chamber of meat products to produce snacks, minced meat, and burgers. They also have a massive cool storage center of fresh and frozen beef products, at a capacity of forty thousand cubic meters.

The third day of the mission involved a trip to Barcelona, where the participants were treated to a tour of one of Spain’s most long-standing beef production organizations in Barcelona, with a history dating back over 100 years. The UAE vendors witnessed the superlative practice of extensive product traceability. The last day of the trip concluded at Mercamadrid, where the UAE team visited a state-of-the-art beef processing plant and headquarters in Mercamadrid.

 

Zawya.com

A poultry company has been fined £300,000 after neighbours complained about the smell of “rotting bodies and flesh” coming from an abattoir.

People living near Banham Poultry in Attleborough in Norfolk reported the smell to the Environment Agency nearly 350 times between 2019 and 2021.

Some said the smell was like “rotting bodies and flesh”, while one person was physically sick.

The stench came from decaying chickens, with the smell escaping through damaged and open doors.

Meanwhile, stale blood accumulated on the abattoir floor due to blocked drains.

Banham Poultry, which is now under new management, was sanctioned for “failing to stop odour pollution”.

At a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on 15 September, District Judge Andrew King said the smell had a “significant effect on quality of life” in the town.

The court heard that people could not enjoy their gardens, and nauseating smells entering their homes were difficult to remove.

The Environment Agency said that it had previously warned the company to act after nine people complained about smells coming from the slaughterhouse in 2019, but the situation only got worse.

 

ITV

Growing concerns over the survival of small abattoirs and farm supply companies have prompted the National Sheep Association (NSA) to appeal to government for “meaningful” support.

The NSA points to the increasing dominance of large companies in agricultural markets which it says is leading to the end of small seed or livestock processing businesses, such as the recent closure of a 100-year-old abattoir in the north of England.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “Although newly announced energy support packages will have come as welcome relief for many, the government must realise the ongoing severity of the situation, especially within the small abattoir sector.

“During the period between 2019-2021, the sector has seen the closure of 14 abattoirs and already this year we have seen more added to that list.” Mr Stocker said the largest 24 meat processing plants control 85% of the throughput.

“As an industry, there is a desperate need to support small and medium-sized businesses to ensure that there is capacity and a service for rural locations at a time when interest in localising supply chains is growing.”

 

 

The Press and Journal

GABORONE, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Botswana has resumed exports of live cattle and beef from areas declared free of foot and mouth disease (FMD) but sales to Europe, which has tougher import restrictions, remain suspended, a senior government official told Reuters on Wednesday.

In August, Botswana suspended beef exports following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in one of its disease control zones in the northeast of the southern African country.

Kefentse Motshegwa, acting director of Veterinary Services, said sales to the EU and Britain remain suspended with negotiations to reopen exports underway.

“Following an outbreak, there are specific processes to be implemented and arrangements that must be negotiated with EU before exports are resumed, and this process is ongoing,” Motshegwa said.

Reuters

Meat processor Tönnies has cut hundreds of jobs since June at two pig plants in its home market of Germany as slaughter numbers continue to “slump”.

Between 500 and 600 slaughtering and cutting positions have been eliminated across the sites in Sögel, Lower Saxony, and Weißenfels in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, a spokesperson for Tönnies confirmed, adding to a reduction in headcount at other facilities in the past two years.

Animals coming in for slaughter have dropped amid higher costs for farmers, leading to some exiting the trade altogether, Tönnies said. It was a similar story at Danish Crown, which announced 350 job cuts earlier this month at two abattoirs, citing “record-high costs” for energy and animal feed linked to the war in Ukraine. Like Germany, some pig farmers in Denmark are also shutting down production completely, Danish Crown said.

German politicians are also pushing for a general reduction in meat consumption due to environmental considerations and a national strategy to promote plant-based alternatives and organic farming.

“The entire industry is currently struggling with a slump in slaughter numbers. The reduction in animal husbandry pushed by some politicians is having a full impact. Many farmers have given up their farms and there is a shortage of animals,” Tönnies explained in a statement.

 

By Simon Harvey / Just Food