EU Must Lose Fears Over Vaccinated Meat - Minister
Date: 16-Dec-04
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Jeremy Smith
EU countries have seen several outbreaks of highly contagious animal diseases in recent years, such as bird flu, foot-and-mouth and classical swine fever, which have led to widespread slaughter of livestock to stop the problem spreading.
Britons witnessed grisly television images of thousands of burning animals during the UK's 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis -- causing a public outcry and demands for a rethink of how the government should handle any future outbreak.
"Mass slaughter is no longer politically acceptable," Veerman told a two-day conference on animal disease control. "(The question is over) opting for vaccination instead of wholesale slaughter...but it's difficult to market meat products from vaccinated animals. These products are often rejected." Europe faced a dilemma, he said, with trade interests on the one hand and public opinion on the other.
"We have to find a way to get the products of vaccinated animals on the market," he said. "I see a key role for the retail sector here, they have a public responsibility."
Scientists saw no danger from vaccinated animals, with no risks of diseases being transmitted.
Veerman last year ordered the slaughter of more than 30 million birds -- a quarter of all Dutch poultry -- to contain a bird flu outbreak.
More work could be done to limit the risk of animal disease outbreaks in Europe, but the threat of infection could not be avoided, he said.
"Massive culling is not acceptable to European citizens any more, but there may be situations where it cannot be avoided," Jaana Husu-Kallio, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's food safety unit, told the conference.
"The key word is prevention: it's cheaper and more effective. There won't be a day when we can say there is no risk of a crisis situation. But we are well prepared," she said.
