Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to financially incentivise investment in British agriculture.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
There is a huge opportunity for UK agriculture to improve its competitiveness developing the next generation of food and farming technology, adopting the latest techniques and investing in skills and equipment. To support this, we opened the Farming Investment Fund in November 2021. This provides grants toward a proportion of the total cost of the investment allowing farmers, foresters and growers (including related contractors) to invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment. Support is available to support smaller and larger investments.
In partnership with UK Research and Innovation, Defra has run a Farming Innovation Pathways fund and launched the £270 million Farming Innovation Programme to stimulate innovation, attract investment in R&D, and provide a boost to sustainable productivity in agriculture and horticulture. These funding programmes will enable agri-businesses to work in partnership with our world-leading research organisations to carry out research and development on innovative farming techniques.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of use of (a) snare traps and (b) other inhumane forms of animal trap.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In 2012 Defra published a report titled “Determining the Extent of Use and Humaneness of Snares in England and Wales”. This report estimated that at any one time and depending on the season, between 62,800 and 188,300 fox snares were being used in England, the maximum occurring in March.
A survey conducted as part of this report suggests that rabbit snares were in use on 1,567 holdings in England, with an average of 12 snares being set at any one time on each of these holdings.
Defra has not undertaken any more recent research into the number of snares being used and therefore cannot provide an assessment on trends in snare use.
When used improperly, snares can cause immense suffering and the Government is looking at whether changes are needed to address these concerns. The Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published last year, included an ambition to conduct a call for evidence on the use of snares and this will be launched in due course.
In terms of other inhumane forms of animal trap, my department is supporting the Glue Traps (Offences) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Jane Stevenson MP last year, to restrict the use of glue traps as a means of pest control to help make sure rodents are despatched in a humane manner.
Glue traps can cause immense suffering to rodents and other animals that inadvertently fall victim to their use. While the Government does not hold any official data on total glue trap sales, conversations with stakeholders have suggested that at least 250,000 glue boards were sold each year in the UK between 2017 – 2020.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to vaccinate domestic and captive bird populations against avian flu.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Defra has no plans to vaccinate domestic or captive bird populations against avian influenza.
Our policy on vaccination is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain and in separate guidance on GOV.UK. Outside of zoos, the vaccination of birds as an immediate disease control response is not currently permitted. High standards of biosecurity, separation of poultry and other captive birds from wild birds, and careful surveillance for signs of disease remain the most effective means of controlling avian influenza.
While vaccination can help to reduce mortality, it is likely that some vaccinated birds would still be capable of transmitting avian influenza if they became infected. This would increase the time taken to detect and eradicate the virus.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the long-term efficacy of the current method of eradication of avian flu through culling.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Defra’s objective in tackling any outbreak of avian influenza is to eradicate the disease as quickly as possible and regain UK disease-free status.
Our approach is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain. Swift and humane culling of birds on infected premises coupled with good biosecurity is to prevent the amplification of avian influenza and subsequent environmental contamination and to reduce the risk of disease spread from infected premises.
Current policy is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control. It reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease.
Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. We aim to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment, whilst protecting public health and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of its resources to manage effectively an outbreak of avian flu.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is the lead delivery body within Government for animal disease control. APHA has tried and tested contingency and outbreak response plans. Where necessary, these facilitate additional support from culling and disposal contractors through contingency framework contracts and the deployment of additional veterinarians through the Veterinary Delivery Partnership (VDP). The VDP awards contracts to delivery partners to supply a flexible package of veterinary services.
The UK is facing its largest ever outbreak of avian influenza with over 60 cases confirmed across the country during November and December. During any significant avian influenza outbreak, resource capacity and capability would be kept under close review. Through its close working relationships with Defra group, the devolved administrations, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local authorities, APHA has access to further means of support; for example, enabling additional surge capacity to be brought on-stream where required.
Activation of contingencies is determined in the light of close monitoring of the situation on the ground and with advice from relevant experts. Current measures are proportionate and in line with national law and international law, including trade requirements. Our overriding aim is to limit the spread and the economic impact of avian influenza disease on the industry.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what strategies his Department has in place to help prevent high rates of infection of avian flu among commercial bid populations in the next ten years.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Effective animal disease control is a top priority and the Department has a strong track record of controlling and eliminating outbreaks in the UK, working with industry, the wider veterinary community, and key delivery bodies such as the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Defra’s approach to the control of avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain and our tried and tested Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England. The assessment of risk drives the UK’s approach to biosecurity and disease control as it enables us effectively to identify, detect and respond to threats.