UK ‘not prepared’ for major animal disease outbreak like foot and mouth or bird flu
Increasing risk of animal diseases prompts dire warning for UK
- A National Audit Office (NAO) report warns the UK Government is not prepared for the increasing risk of animal diseases and would struggle to manage a major outbreak, potentially costing billions.
- The report highlights that long-term resilience is undermined by focussing on frequent outbreaks without a long-term strategy.
- Contingency plans are outdated – for example, the foot and mouth strategy has not been updated since 2011.
- Only 5 per cent of live animal imports undergo physical checks, raising the risk of exotic diseases, and there is a shortage of vets at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, along with a high risk of failure at the Weybridge animal science lab.
- The NAO found that Defra acknowledges a "very high" risk of being unable to respond effectively to an outbreak but lacks a long-term strategy and action plan to improve resilience.