Published on Wednesday28thSeptember2016

National Farmed Animal Health Strategy Consultation Process Launched

20160927CreedAnimalHealth Strategy

Pictured are Joe O’Flaherty, CEO, Animal Health Ireland, Martin Blake, Chief Veterinary Officer at the Department of Agricultrue, Food and the Marine, Agriculture Minister  Michael Creed & Justin Walsh, farmer

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has today launched a consultation process on the development of a new National Farmed Animal Health strategy framework for Ireland.

Minister Creed said:

A coherent and robust animal health strategy has the capability to deliver very significant savings per annum as has been evidenced in the case of the recent progress being made on the BVD eradication programme. The existence of sub-optimal animal health impacts negatively at individual farm level, on processor returns, on the environment and ultimately on international trade and domestic employment levels.  In addition, zoonotic infections in animals as well as the avoidable use of antibiotics in animals may impact on public health.

The livestock sector represented almost 90% of Ireland’s gross agricultural output, as well as forming the critical element of the € 10.8 billion in agri-food exports in 2015 and in sustaining some 170,000 jobs in the agri-food sector.

It is opportune to work towards the creation of a national strategy framework that will guide the development and implementation of policies and programmes towards making a lasting and continuous improvement in the health and welfare of farmed animals in Ireland. The new strategy will be developed in tandem with the sustainability objectives already set out in Food Wise 2025.

...the Minister said.

Read the full press release here.