Foot and Mouth Disease Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ann Davies
Main Page: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)Department Debates - View all Ann Davies's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Foot and Mouth Disease
Ann Davies Excerpts(3 days, 10 hours ago)
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Daniel Zeichner
The right hon. Gentleman speaks with passion and paints a vivid picture of that dismal period, which, sadly, I remember well. I can give him an absolute assurance that—as he will know from his time in government—the veterinary officers work very closely together, particularly on an official level. This is an entirely shared endeavour, and we will do everything we can to ensure that that there is the close co-operation that is needed.
Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)
I am a dairy farmer, and the devastating outbreak of foot and mouth more than 20 years ago was on my doorstep. We were lucky, as a family farm, but sadly others within my farming community in Wales were not. The outbreak was also a food security issue, as it was understood to have derived from food waste fed to pigs. What lessons have the UK Government learnt from that outbreak to enable them to secure our food chains better and keep our livestock and food supplies safe?
Daniel Zeichner
I recognise the hurt that the hon. Lady recollects from that dreadful time. A great deal of work was done in the light of those events, and lessons have been learnt; for instance, technology has changed and improved. I will not go into all those lessons, which are probably worthy of a longer debate, but it is important for us to act on them, because we do not want a repeat of what happened in 2001.