British Veterinary Association (BVA) president Simon Doherty has warned of the significant risks a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could bring to the UK’s farming sectors.
Doherty warned crashing out of the EU without a deal would exacerbate current shortages in the veterinary profession and create significant risks for trade; animal health and welfare; and food safety.
The 17,000-strong organisation highlighted the central role of vets in ensuring standards are upheld in animal health and welfare, food safety and public health.
Brexit has raised concerns that there will not be the veterinary capacity to carry out many of these roles – especially with regards to export certification.
In a recent survey of the profession, nearly two-thirds (64%) of vets felt that Brexit was more of a threat than an opportunity for the profession. Nearly nine out of 10 (88%) were concerned about the potential lack of veterinary capacity to undertake certification post-Brexit.
Informed by the technical notices released by the UK Government, the briefing outlines the impacts of the UK leaving the EU on March 29 without a withdrawal agreement in place.
Vet shortages
The veterinary profession is already experiencing labour shortages with recent figures from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) showing that 32% of non-UK EU veterinary surgeons are considering returning to their home country.
It also found 18% were already actively looking for work outside the UK.
No-deal disease control co-operation
The report also showed that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK will lose or have limited access to a range of EU systems and organisations that are central to safeguarding public and animal health.
These include:
- The Animal Disease Notification System (ADNS), which permits access to information about contagious animal disease outbreaks;
- The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which provides scientific advice and communication on existing and emerging risks to food safety; and
- The Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES), which records the outcome of biosecurity and food safety checks on imported commodities.
Uncertainty over access to veterinary medicines is another potential threat to animal health and welfare.
Alternative systems need to be in place to ensure the UK’s reputation in animal disease surveillance, food safety and biosecurity is maintained on Brexit day and vets should be involved in the development of these systems.
Currently, it is not clear what, if any, form these systems will take and the level of veterinary involvement in their development and application.
With no deal in place, when the UK leaves the EU it will have to become a ‘listed third country’ for the purposes of trade, pet travel and animal movement.
This will mean increasing demands on the veterinary profession in terms of signing Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for the export of animals or animal products as well as certification, testing and vaccination for pet travel and equine transport.
Without approval from the EU, the UK will not achieve listed third country status on Brexit day and there could be a delay of several months during which animals may not be able to travel.
The demands of export certification could also put pressure on abattoirs which could lead to overstocking on farms.
The Northern Ireland border
The BVA also highlighted that there was no agreed ‘backstop’ in place to avoid the need for veterinary checks on the live animals and products of animal origin at the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
It warned this would also add extra workload for vets who would be required to undertake these checks.
BVA president Simon Doherty said: “Huge question marks remain over what will replace the EU systems and legislation that have hitherto been central to our standards in animal health and welfare, food safety and trade.
“We still have major concerns over the potential increase in export health certification and whether we will have the veterinary capacity to meet these demands.
“Going forward it is critical that the Government fully engages with the veterinary profession on matters that affect their work in maintaining standards.
For example, the £27.5 million system intended to replace TRACES is planned to be fully operational for March 2019 and vets would be one of the primary users of this system, but we have yet to be approached to be involved in the testing and training process for the new system.
“We are proud of our profession and the meticulous care with which we uphold standards and any post-Brexit systems or procedures must allow us to maintain our responsibilities to public health and animal health and welfare.”
