Animal health and welfare in the livestock industry 2016 to 2024 - Strategy review

Introduction

Our original Strategy for Animal Health and Welfare in the Livestock Industry was published in 2016. It set a clear objective for the Scottish Government and the sector to work together to maintain and improve the health and welfare of Scotland’s livestock.

Animal health budgets were devolved to Scottish Ministers in 2011, giving the Scottish Government more scope to set its own priorities. As a result, Scottish Ministers wanted an animal health and welfare strategy tailored to Scotland's specific needs while working closely with a range of stakeholders, other UK administrations, regulatory and enforcement authorities to develop and deliver evidence-based policies.

The strategy was prepared in consultation with farming organisations, animal welfare organisations and veterinary scientists. It identified five themes to be addressed to deliver improvements in animal health and welfare:

1. skills and knowledge

2. disease risk

3. welfare

4. regulatory impact

5. societal impact

Eleven actions to drive delivery sat under the five themes. This review is set out using this same structure.

The review examines the joint progress to take forward the actions outlined in the 2016 to 2021 strategy. It reflects on the progress made in completing these actions during the period of 2016 to 2021 and the evidence for each action. The period of review extends to autumn 2024, due to delays caused by the unforeseen work associated with EU Exit, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the extended outbreaks of avian influenza that affected the whole of Great Britain between 2020 and 2023. The lessons identified in the review inform the new livestock health and welfare strategy for Scotland, which covers the period 2025 to 2030.

EU Exit

The EU referendum took place on 23 June 2016, shortly after the publication of the original strategy. Throughout the negotiation period, the Scottish Government worked to safeguard Scotland’s interests. However, the UK formally left the EU Customs Union and Single Market on 31 December 2020 and as a result, the UK was classified as a ‘third country’ for most border-related purposes. This has introduced additional compliance requirements for Scottish exporters.

At the time of publishing the 2025 to 2030 strategy, discussions between the UK and EU are ongoing to define the future relationship.

COVID-19

In March 2020, the UK entered its first national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With all sectors and the general public affected by disease control measures, the livestock sector – due to its role in food production – received recognition for the need to minimise disruption to supply chains. Nonetheless, the wider agriculture sector experienced significant impacts as a result of the pandemic.