Cull unlikely after ministers approve cattle test funding

Wednesday 30 April 2014

The States Vet says that a cull of Jersey cattle is very unlikely after ministers agreed emergency funding for a testing procedure to meet EU rules.

Jersey's dairy industry has been banned from exporting cattle over EU regulations about disease checks, despite the fact that tests have shown that cattle here have been disease-free for years. But ministers have agreed to institute a five-year £267,000 testing programme to get EU accreditation so that exports can restart as soon as possible.

A report that went to the Council of Ministers said that without the EU accreditation there could be a devastating effect on farmers and the dairy, and that some cattle bred for export could even have to be culled.

But States Vet Linda Lowseck said that now the funding had been agreed, she hoped that things would soon return to normal – and she emphasised that although Jersey cattle were free of disease, they effectively just needed the paperwork to prove it in line with EU regulations.

She said: “We are very confident that we do not have these diseases. I think the fact that we have funding for the testing to go ahead means that a cull is very unlikely.

“The earliest that I have heard we will be eligible for export again is six months. Obviously it has been essentially a big frustration because the important thing is that we do not have any of these diseases, however in order to trade we have to go through this programme and we have to comply with the testing requirements.”