To the Minister of Agriculture about scrapie control
May '05
The NBvH wrote a letter to the Minister to plead for exemption of the scrapie programme for breeders with less then 10 ewes in general and for breeders of rare breeds in particular.
Hoevelaken, 2 May 2005
To the Minister of Agriculture Dr. C.P. Veerman
Postbus 20401
2500 EK ’s Gravenhage
i.a.a.
the members of the Committee of Agriculture of Parliament
PVE, att Ir. J. Klaver
Dear Minister Veerman,
In this letter the NBvH shall go into the subject of scrapie control.
Recently the scrapie control policy has been under discussion with Agriculture during the periodic deliberations. At the request of PVE, the NBvH has discussed the ‘rams’-directive of the scrapie policy. During deliberations, both with Agriculture and with PVE, it was clear that the ‘sector’ wants the derogation of this directive for holders of less than 10 ewes to be stopped. It is not exactly clear what the ‘sector’ is aiming at, because this derogation was meant for commercial as well as for non-commercial/smallholders. The NBvH has notified on both occasions that she has doubts about the scrapie control policy, especially about the obligatory, upspeeded form of it. That is why the NBvH has pleaded for continuance of the exemption for smallholders of less than 10 ewes, because we obviously have no say in the matter of commercial holders. Agriculture has suggested a compromise to allow the exemption, but only for special and rare sheep breeds. But the NBvH has not as yet accepted this compromise.
Meanwhile we have heard that you are planning to stop the exemption for all holders of less than 10 ewes, non-commercial. So you meet the wishes of the ‘sector’, which apparently has no grip on their own rank and file and seem not capable of motivating these holders of less than 10 ewes to participate in the ‘rams’-directive.
The NBvH remains of the opinion that the derogation should count for all smallholders and not just for smallholders of special and rare breeds; and that the exemption should in any case be maintained for the latter regardless the specific exemptions already gratified for special and rare breeds of small populations or low ARR/ARR-frequency.
The NBvH will explain this point of view.
There is no danger for public health.
To not participate in the scrapie breeding programme will not endanger public health. The NBvH establishes hereby that BSE is receding since animal ingredients are prohibited in food for ruminants. Sheep that have been fed with contaminated food could possibly develop BSE, although this has not yet been established. But if so, the breeding programme for scrapie will not be effective for controlling BSE contracted through the food. The goat in France that proved to have BSE was an old goat, from the time that animal ingredients were not forbidden. The breeding programme will not prevent BSE contracted because cattle feed was tampered with. Again recently a case of tampered cattle feed was detected in the Netherlands.
Another thing is that testing for BSE is evolving very fast and so testing live animals to distinguish BSE from scrapie is now available.
The risks of breeding on ARR/ARR
Because not participating in the breeding programme does not endanger public health the only objective that remains for the programme is breeding for a reduced susceptibility to scrapie (100 % resistance to scrapie is not possible). The logic of this objective becomes more and more disputable, because even ARR/ARR sheep developed a-specific scrapie.
According to the EU-directive every Member State must have a breeding programme for reduced scrapie susceptibility for (native) sheep breeds as from the 1st of April. I quote the European Commission in their answer to questions by Mr. Mulder (MEP): The requirements of the scrapie programme are minimal and will be obligatory only for thoroughbred pedigree stock of highly genetic value as from April 1st 2005.
So according to the EU-directive there is no obligation for smallholders, who breed no pedigree stock, to participate.
The pedigree societies of rare and special breeds, however, follow the demands of the Regulation when they can, and consult together with Agriculture and PVE and the Animal Science Group.
It came to our notice on several occasions, that the pressure of the programme is high. People decide to breed ARR/ARR too easily, even when dispensation for reasons of inbreeding is possible, just to be rid of the bother of regular testing.
Sheep holders tend to leave the pedigree societies increasingly because of these measures.
Another aspect that various pedigree societies, even of commercial breeds, seek attention for are the risks of one-sided breeding ARR/ARR. It is not yet known how great these risks are. We can, however, establish that breeding only double ARR-animals will guarantee loss of biodiversity. A biodiversity which we have always known and not without a reason. We can only wait for some defect or disease to affect double ARR-animals. By then our sheep population has become very vulnerable.
What now?
The NBvH concludes that there is no longer any balance in this programme. To destroy all that genetic material only to prevent a hypothetical risk is out of proportion. So based on the above argumentations the NBvH maintains the point of view that hobby-holders with less than 10 ewes should not have to participate in the programme. We do not stand in the way of the Department to compromise, as was suggested by them before, to limit the derogation to special and rare breeds only. The NBvH has indicated before, in a letter to Parliament d.d. April 24th 2005, that the pressure on these breeders is too high and that maintaining the derogation for hobby-holders is an important message to pedigree societies to carry out the programme with care. And if Agriculture will maintain their objective to grant derogation only to special and rare breeds-holders, the NBvH advises to establish a list of the commercial breeds, which will not be derogated, in stead of a list of all the breeds that will be derogated.
The ‘sector’ however points out that the programme should be for all holders, commercial and non-commercial. Because the ‘sector’ apparently could not accomplish to motivate the agricultural industries, with sheep as a smallholding combined, to voluntarily participate in the programme, we suggest to withdraw the derogation for these holdings. It will give more sale possibilities for ARR/ARR-rams for higher prices, and that is what the ‘sector’ aims at after all.
Hobbyholders as the accused
The NBvH states that hobby holders are wrongly accused of bad behaviour in the scrapie-problem.
On behalf of the Board of Nederlandse Belangenvereniging van Hobbydierhouders
Ms. drs. P.I. Polman MPH, Chairman