Crofters welcome review of outbreak response 27/6/08
A major review of the response to the 2007 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in England in 2007 provides a good basis for further discussion, according to the Scottish Crofting Foundation.
Speaking after the launch of the report today, SCF Chairman Neil MacLeod said: “The work put in by the Scottish Government to minimise disruption during the FMD outbreak last year has been recognised in this review, which also highlights the good communication throughout the crisis.
“The review recommends how the response could be improved further at a Scottish, UK and European level in the event of another outbreak.
We are particularly pleased to see considerable discussion of the possibility for further regionalisation of the response and look forward to contributing to discussions on how this might work.
“We would like to see more investigation on how to ensure that islands and remote mainland areas have and benefit from high standards of biosecurity that would allow considerably more freedom to move, in the event of an outbreak occurring hundreds of miles away.
“As the report stresses, measures must be put in place on a robust scientific basis and we look forward to working with experts in government to develop the best scenarios for the future.”
