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Minister considers sheep cull

Mr Brown announced the measures following crisis talks with the Farmers' Union of Wales and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) in London on Thursday.

He said a sheep cull was one of the proposals under consideration, but not a "solution in itself", to help farmers.

"It certainly has some merit as a short term measure but the cost is clearly one of the considerations that has got to be looked at," he said.

Mr Brown has previously resisted farmers' demands for a government-funded cull in England - although it is being considered in Scotland and Wales - as he believes such a scheme would not be allowed under European Union rules.

Review of entire industry

On Thursday, Mr Brown also said he would appoint a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture to review the way the entire agriculture industry was managed.

This was welcomed by NFU leader Ben Gill, who said that the review should also address over-regulation in the industry.

The NFU believes excessive bureaucracy is at the heart of farming's current problems.

The industry has also been affected by increased animal welfare standards implemented in the UK following the BSE crisis, the strength of sterling, cheap imports and the loss of some foreign markets.

Mr Gill said: "There comes a point where you regulate to a situation where you can't produce food. We want safe food but this is regulation gone mad."

Over-production 'not the problem'

Mr Gill added that over-production by farmers was not the root of the problem, as had recently been suggested by Mr Brown.

He said that three or four million fewer prime sheep would be slaughtered this year than four or five years ago.

He cited instances where six inspectors were monitoring the work of one slaughterhouse man, and the consequent cost to farmers and the industry as a whole, as the real causes of the current crisis.

Farmers say their incomes have plummeted by 75% in two years, and market prices are not meeting costs of production for a number of sectors including sheep, cow, dairy and poultry farming.

EC approached for help

Earlier in the day, Mr Brown also said he would ask the European Commission to introduce a Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme for UK sheep meat.

Under the scheme, the PSA would offer payments to abattoirs to freeze and store meat for up to seven months to keep it off the market in the hope that prices would stabilise.

The scheme would aim to restrict supply while the additional numbers of animals slaughtered should help raise prices paid to farmers for their livestock.

Mr Brown added that he could not promise direct financial aid for farmers, but said he intended to discuss measures to relieve the crisis with other areas of government, including the Treasury.

Relevant Stories

Sorting out the sheep to cull (03 Sep 99 | UK)
Farmers threaten action over sheep crisis (29 Aug 99 | Scotland)
Welsh farming: an industry in crisis (27 Aug 99 | Wales)
Farmers face 'worst crisis since 30s' (28 Aug 99 | UK)
RSPCA condemns sheep-dumping (27 Aug 99 | Wales)
Lamb fails to make mint (18 Aug 99 | Scotland)

Internet Links

Scottish Executive
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food
Farmers' Union of Wales
National Assembly for Wales
National Farmers' Union

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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