Timetable call on disease rules

Restrictions were eased over the weekend for welfare reasons

Farmers' leaders have called for a timetable to be drawn up for further relaxations of foot-and-mouth restrictions in Wales.

FUW president Gareth Vaughan urged the move during a meeting on Monday with Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones.

A UK-wide ban put in place after the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey 10 days ago was relaxed over the weekend.

Mr Vaughan welcomed the easing of the restrictions allowing animals in Wales to be moved under strict conditions.

Ms Jones announced on Friday that, from midnight, animals could be moved no more than one kilometre for welfare reasons and under "strict conditions".

Mr Vaughan also highlighted the importance of the meat export market, calling on abattoirs and supermarkets not to take advantage of the deflated market during the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey

Fallen stock

"This follows a poor start to the lamb selling season when we were receiving reports of prices as much as £20 less than last year," Mr Vaughan said.

Ahead of the meeting with the minister, Dai Davies, National Farmers' Union (NFU) Cymru president, said he would "try and make sure that we have got a programme in place to see red meat markets opening".

"And we also have some concern about the system in place as far as fallen stock is concerned at the moment," he said.

It is a balance really between keeping a tight rein on this disease and trying to get the industry back to some kind of normality to carry on with their businesses Dai Davies, NFU Cymru president

"The big prize is to get back into Europe and there is an opportunity now perhaps to get a case together to try and push for that market to open."

He said the outbreak had been difficult for the government to deal with.

"It is a balance really between keeping a tight rein on this disease and trying to get the industry back to some kind of normality to carry on with their businesses," he added.

The first concession to Welsh farmers came on Thursday and allowed them to take livestock to abattoirs for slaughter.

And from midnight on Friday, animals could be moved no more than a kilometre for welfare reasons including newly-weaned animals, pregnant sows and cows, animals for breeding, and animals with feeding difficulties because of a shortage of grazing.

Farmers' leaders described that change as an "important step" to help the industry deal with the effects of the outbreak.

A leading microbiologist said on Sunday that the outbreak of the disease in Surrey could effectively be over by the end of next week if no new cases emerged.

Professor Hugh Pennington said the chance of any further cases would be "highly unlikely" if it had not spread to other animals by that point.

FUW officers will meet assembly government officials again early next week.