Environment and Avian Flu Discussions Tabled At British Pig and Poultry Fair - UK - Discussions on new environmental legislation and Avian Influenza attracted a wide audience of producers at this year’s British Pig and Poultry Fair, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire last week.

Organisers of the Fair, Haymarket Land Events, pulled together key industry experts including the Environment Agency, NFU and Defra – with Defra Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds contributing to the Avian Influenza discussion - to ensure discussions were topical and relevant to producers.

Debby Reynolds emphasized the need for the industry to be prompt with its information, consistent and transparent. Supporting this view, Charles Bourns said that the poultry industry had to be different in this respect from other livestock sectors affected by disease.

The panel’s message for producers was to review and step up biosecurity as a means of keeping Avian Influenza under control – vaccination is not part of the control measures in the UK at this stage.

Speaking to pig producers in the Pig Central Feature, MLC pig technologist Nigel Penlington said that some re-investment may be crucial in order for producers to meet environmental legislation with a lot of regulations set to come in this year.

The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) legislation will mainly affect larger pig (and poultry) units and producers will have to apply for a permit to continue to farm.

In addition to the seminars, visitors to the Fair made the most of the 280 trade stands that covered all aspects of pig and poultry production, from the genetics to the finished and marketed product.

“Visitors represented a wide range of farming businesses,” said managing director of Haymarket Land Events Dominique Gill. “Feedback is that the Fair gave them an ideal one-stop shop window, whatever their size of operation and system, reinforcing the role of the event in providing a platform for meeting valued customers and prospects.”

ThePoultrySite News Desk