Members of the British Poultry Council convened today for a high level seminar on the proposals to share the cost and responsibility for animal diseases between government and the livestock sectors.

Speaking today, Ted Wright, Chairman of BPC said: “This major piece of policy has massive implications for poultry farmers and processors. Animal disease outbreaks have rarely been out of the headlines in the last two years, and today is a chance for us to take a step back from events on the ground and assess the management and cost in a rounded way”.

The government’s responsibility and cost sharing discussions with the livestock sector are developing, with the issue of a formal consultation in late December last year and a series of regional workshops over the coming weeks.

“Many discussions have focused on TB or Foot and Mouth Disease in larger livestock, but the BPC seminar today focuses on what the impact is for the poultry sector, which provides nearly half the meat consumed in the UK”, continued Mr. Wright.

The government has a vision for responsibility sharing, with different legal structures to facilitate this. On cost sharing, the agenda has moved on from only disease to looking at the funding of all animal health and welfare. Various charging mechanisms and disease categorisations are part of the consultation, along with how other countries are doing it around the world.

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 Notes to Editors:

1. The British Poultry Council is the leading representative organization for companies and individuals engaged in breeding, hatching, rearing and processing chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese to produce poultry meat.

2. Ted Wright has been the Chairman of the British Poultry Council since June 2004, when he retired as Managing Director (Hungary) from Bernard Matthews Ltd.

3. The speeches given by the speakers at today’s AGM are available from the BPC on request – the speakers are outlined in the attached programme and biographies:

Kevin Pearce, Head of Food and Farming, NFU
David Dawson, Director of Exotic Diseases and Contingency Planning, DEFRA
Richard Bennett, Prof of Agricultural Economics at Reading University
Katrina Williams, Director-General for Food and Farming, DEFRA

Further information on the BPC and its activities can be found at www.poultry.uk.com

BPC 04 March 2008