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Welsh farmers reject animal health bill 14/11/2001
The Farmers‚ Union of Wales has rejected the Government’s new Animal Health Bill - because the union doesn’t believe that DEFRA should be given any more powers at present.
The new Animal Health Bill proposes to give the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs powers to force farmers to comply with livestock culls in the event of another disease outbreak, such as foot and mouth. The FUW believes that arbitrary powers coupled to the lack of an appeals procedure could breach EU law and the Human Rights Act.
"Giving DEFRA even more powers over the lives of farmers before establishing why the disease spread out of control so quickly is like putting a five year old behind the wheel of a Ferrari," said Alan Gardner, who chaired a joint meeting of the union’s livestock and hill farming committees.
"The only way to resolve this difficult issue is for the Government to order a full public inquiry into this year’s foot and mouth epidemic so that errors can be pinpointed and lessons learned," he said. "Until such an inquiry is held it would be foolish to grant DEFRA any more powers."
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