Pressure builds over lamb export ban

About 40% of Scottish lambs are usually exported

Pressure is growing for Scotland to go it alone and persuade Europe to lift the ban on lamb exports.

Senior Liberal Democrat MSP George Lyon is urging ministers and farmers' leaders to step up their efforts to get the export market moving again.

He says the move is necessary in order to avoid a "financial catastrophe" in Scotland's rural and remote island communities.

The National Farmers' Union of Scotland is also pushing for the ban to be lifted but is urging the government to also introduce a compensation scheme for farmers.

George Lyon wants Ross Finnie to act

And Brian Anderson, a Shetland livestock agent, said he believed Scotland should be treated like Northern Ireland and have the ban lifted.

Mr Lyon, who is himself a farmer, points out that Scotland has apparently managed to contain foot-and-mouth disease.

There have been no new cases north of the Border since the end of May, but Mr Lyon said new cases are still coming to light in England.

The export of lamb from the UK has been banned and the MSP has warned that Scotland's farming and rural communities are facing ruin because of that.

Mr Lyon said: "There is a real case for Scotland to argue it should go free and should go it alone with the region being able to export to markets.

Devolved matter

"There is a huge difference between what is happening here and south of the Border.

"It is now eight weeks since we have had a case.

"This is a major time of the year when upland farms sell their products."

Farming and rural affairs are devolved matters and as such Mr Lyon wants his Lib Dem colleague Ross Finnie - the rural development minister - to press Europe to lift the export ban.

A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said officials were "exploring all possible avenues" in relation to the issue of lamb exports.

She added that proposals to lift the export ban for areas of Scotland unaffected by foot-and-mouth disease have been raised with the European Union and the Standing Veterinary Committee.

Mr Lyon made his call as Prime Minister Tony Blair came under attack from Scottish NFU leader Jim Walker over the way the crisis has been handled.

Mr Walker said Mr Blair had betrayed Scotland's farmers and failed to keep promises to help them.

Jim Walker has criticised Tony Blair

He said the Labour leader had turned his back on farmers following his general election victory.

"Now we feel the prime minister has turned his back on us. He said he would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the farming industry and make sure we didn't go under," said Mr Walker.

"There was talk of a rescue plan for the sheep sector to keep us afloat until export markets are reopened but now he is too busy to see us.

"Obviously he is a busy man and that's fair enough, but it doesn't get away from the responsibility of the Government to help us and they are just not interested," he added.

Mr Walker echoed Mr Lyon's concerns about the fate of sheep farmers unable to export their lambs.

He said: "In Scotland 40% of lambs are usually exported so with no export market farmers are facing financial meltdown.

"The industry has been plummeting for years and without a realistic market one to one and a half million lambs are worthless.

"People are going bankrupt and just because foot-and-mouth is not in the headlines any more doesn't mean the problem has gone away."