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

Theme 2: Disease risk

The risk of incursion by a notifiable (or statutory) animal disease is always present. We have put in place a system for responding to suspect cases, identifying disease, and dealing with outbreaks if they occur. The pillars underpinning that system include a legal requirement to report suspicion of notifiable animal disease, surveillance arrangements, a detailed agreement between the Scottish Government and the APHA, a partnership approach to tackling disease, and systems for monitoring wildlife and imports. APHA provides international disease monitoring for the whole of Great Britain, coupled with a system for alerting stakeholders to new and emerging threats, such as text alerts and publishing of preliminary outbreak assessments.

The developments outlined under Theme 1 from Scottish Government-funded research complement the vaccines for major exotic notifiable diseases that form part of the outbreak response toolbox. We have worked with the UK Government’s DEFRA, the Welsh Government, the VMD, and key industry representatives to ensure vaccine stocks for LSD, classical swine fever, FMD and BTV are available if needed.

Non-statutory endemic diseases have significant impacts on animal welfare, production efficiency, costs, and product quality. Research has demonstrated a link between endemic disease and higher levels of associated greenhouse gas emissions during the production of both cattle and sheep (also presented in Theme 5).

APHA plays a key role in improving animal health and welfare across Great Britain, as well as in the prevention, control, and eradication of exotic and endemic notifiable diseases. We fund these services in Scotland, including IT services to support bee health. APHA works in collaboration with local authorities, the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division (SGRPID), Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) to reduce animal health and welfare related risks, minimise the economic impact of animal disease, ensure high standards of welfare in farmed animals, and improve food safety.

Work of the Animal and Plant Health Agency

Action 4: the Scottish Government will review its governance of APHA's activities in Scotland, to ensure that Scottish Government delivers an effective service to the people of Scotland.

APHA is an executive agency of DEFRA, working on behalf of DEFRA as well as the Scottish and Welsh Governments. On behalf of Scottish Ministers, APHA is the lead operational partner responsible for:

• identifying and controlling notifiable endemic and exotic diseases in animals and aspects of surveillance for new and emerging pests and diseases
• upholding standards of livestock welfare
• facilitating scientific research in areas such as bacterial, viral, prion and parasitic diseases, as well as vaccine development; APHA also serves as an international reference laboratory for many farm animal diseases
• facilitating international trade in animals and products of animal origin (POAO)
• regulating the safe disposal of animal by-products (ABPs) to reduce the risk of potentially dangerous substances entering the food chain

The budget to support the delivery of APHA activities in Scotland was devolved to the Scottish Government in April 2011. Given it was approaching nine years since the devolution of that budget, in December 2019 Scottish Ministers commissioned an independent review of the animal health and welfare services delivered by APHA in Scotland. The review assessed the strengths and weaknesses of field delivery and identified ten recommendations, presented in the report published in February 2020. These included:

• that both a Great Britain-wide or a Scottish approach to animal health and welfare services are viable options going forward. For a Great Britain-wide model to be effective, greater effort will be required to ensure that Scottish policy requirements and priorities are recognised and delivered
• that consideration should be given to the creation of a new Scottish Veterinary Service (SVS) to undertake the functions currently delivered by APHA
• the continued use of the Pirbright and Weybridge UK reference laboratories for the diagnosis of exotic notifiable diseases

Work began on assessing the report’s recommendations, however progress was paused due to competing priorities, including pressures related to COVID-19 and the EU Exit transition.

The 2021 SNP Manifesto included a commitment to establish an SVS, which was subsequently reflected in the Programme for Government (PfG) commitment for 2021-2022. Work progressed to provide Ministers with detailed costed options, including an assessment of risks and resource implications for more effective models that could deliver efficiencies and improve service effectiveness. This scoping work supported the case for an SVS that could deliver quality improvements and financial sustainability. However, in spring 2024, in light of the prevailing financial climate, Scottish Ministers determined that it was appropriate to prioritise other key public services, and as a result the work did not proceed at that time.

Lesson identified: we should continue to work with regulatory and enforcement authorities to ensure that Scotland has the best possible animal health and welfare services based on a sound legislative base, a responsive and effective regulatory regime, and transparent and effective enforcement.

Veterinary profession in Scotland

The Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland chairs the Veterinary Delivery Landscape Project (VDLP) Group, which brings together veterinary profession leaders and practitioners in Scotland to share information and consider challenges and solutions related to the sustainable delivery of veterinary services, particularly in remote and rural areas. Outcomes from the group include an assessment of the veterinary profession’s value to Scotland.

Veterinary practices across Scotland play a vital role in delivering statutory duties in support of APHA, particularly in areas such as disease surveillance, tuberculosis (TB) testing, brucellosis investigations and anthrax inquiries. This role of Official Veterinarian (OV) requires specialist training. In July 2024, Scottish Ministers increased the funding available to OVs to support ongoing recruitment and retention in this specialism.

To assist the continued delivery of veterinary services in remote areas of Scotland, we have maintained funding for the Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services Scheme (HIVSS). HIVSS ensures that adequate veterinary services are available for the prevention and eradication of diseases affecting animals kept for agricultural purposes by crofters and those of a similar status.

Wildlife and import monitoring

Action 5: the Scottish Government, in conjunction with partners, will review existing monitoring of wildlife and imports to ensure that they are effective.

Veterinary surveillance

Veterinary surveillance remains one of our priorities and is delivered through Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the Moredun Research Institute, APHA and FSS. Surveillance is essential for detection of notifiable diseases and new or emerging infections, safeguarding the health and welfare of Scottish livestock, supporting productivity, and underpinning trade. It also provides a vital service to livestock keepers, by helping them monitor herd and flock health and treat disease effectively.

Veterinary surveillance also plays a key role in protecting human health, as some diseases, such as salmonella, are zoonotic – transmissible between animals and humans – and others, such as COVID-19, originate in animals.

The Strategic Management Board for Veterinary Surveillance has been appointed to ensure that Scottish Government-funded surveillance is effective, by monitoring and challenging information provided by delivery bodies. During the strategy period, the passive surveillance infrastructure operated by SRUC has undergone a systemic transformation. This includes a reduction in the number of Veterinary Investigation centres conducting post-mortems, centralisation of diagnostic services, involvement of private practitioners in ‘field’ post-mortem sample collection, and collaboration with Glasgow Veterinary School. From both government and farmer perspectives, these changes have been successful – for example, they have led to a significant increase in successful diagnosis of abortions.

Wildlife surveillance

Wild animals, including game species and feral populations of non-native species, can act as reservoirs for disease. Monitoring arrangements for both large and small game, as well as other wild birds and mammals, form an important part of the Scottish Government’s contingency planning for detecting and controlling notifiable diseases. These plans take into account the potential role of wildlife in disease transmission and outline measures for disease control in wild populations.

We participate in the Great Britain Wildlife Surveillance Group coordinated by APHA, alongside SRUC. The group collates information from a range of sources to assess risks to animal health. A Scottish Wildlife Disease Surveillance Group has also been established to bring together Scottish stakeholders, to encourage further collaboration and facilitate discussion. This group serves as a feedback loop, so that issues of particular relevance to Scotland can be tabled at the Great Britain Wildlife Disease Core Group.

We also work closely with the poultry sector to prevent contact between domestic birds and wild species, and promote best-practice biosecurity measures. Wild bird populations are monitored for their potential to spread diseases, such as avian influenza, through surveillance of dead wild birds reported by the public and warden patrols. The criteria for bird collection (species and numbers) can be adjusted to increase or decrease surveillance sensitivity, depending on the UK’s assessed risk of disease incursion. This wild bird monitoring ensures that reported sightings of dead birds are investigated for any potential impact on Scotland’s avian sector.

The Scottish Government’s Feral Pig Coordination Group works in partnership with NatureScot, APHA and Forestry Land Scotland. Populations of feral pigs in Scotland are monitored and humane methods for the control of existing small populations have been explored. These populations pose a potential reservoir for disease, such as African swine fever (ASF) and FMD, which could have serious implications for domestic pig production and exports. If feral pigs were to test positive, it would be difficult for the UK to demonstrate disease freedom. We continue to work with experts to review and develop our feral pig policy.

Lesson identified: we should ensure that the network of groups across Great Britain with interests in wildlife diseases are well connected, proactively sharing information and responsive to government requests.

Monitoring imports

We work closely with APHA, Border Force North, and local authorities in Scotland to implement the UK Government’s borders regime. Imports of live animals, POAO, and ABPs all carry the risk of introducing disease. Importers are required to use the Import of Products, Animals Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) – an online portal – to pre-notify UK authorities of such goods arriving into Great Britain.

Animal products must enter through an approved Border Control Post (BCP), where they are subject to documentary, identity, and physical checks. The frequency of border checks is based on risk assessment. Since EU Exit, we have worked together with APHA and FSS to develop a programme of BCP designation. There are currently 22 BCPs designated across Scotland for animals and animal products.

Live animal import controls

Live animals continue to be imported directly into Scotland via a number of airports and there is a significant trade in livestock from Northern Ireland, including animals from the Republic of Ireland. Since EU Exit, the UK Government has been working towards implementing a new borders regime.

To prohibit or restrict the importation of certain animals from countries following a disease outbreak or public health concerns, we employ emergency safeguard measures. These can be introduced at very short notice to contain biosecurity risks. For example, we have worked closely with the UK Office for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Trade Assurance to implement a safeguard measure aimed at preventing the entry of ASF into Great Britain from the EU and EFTA states.

Prevention and detection of illegal meat imports

We work in partnership with Border Force to monitor the risk posed by illegal imports of POAO. In 2020, we supported the establishment of a dedicated Scottish detector dog service to enhance existing Border Force controls at Scotland’s airports, ports and parcel hubs. Exercises undertaken by Border Force have shown that preventing the entry of illegal meat and meat products into Scotland is more important than ever. In 2023, the detector dog service assisted with the seizure of 3,870 kg of illegally imported meat. In the first nine months of 2024 alone, this figure rose to 4,209 kg.

Lesson identified: we should continue to develop and use our powers to prevent and control the importation of risk material.

Advancing endemic disease control

Action 6: the Scottish Government will use the best available evidence to initiate a discussion with stakeholders on the next stage of tackling disease in Scotland.

As noted above, reducing endemic disease in our livestock can bring significant advantages to animal health, public health, and to the environment. Scotland is fortunate to have a vibrant research community, a motivated and collaborative veterinary profession, and a well-informed industry to drive forward control of endemic diseases. During this strategy period, we have worked closely with stakeholders to address a range of endemic disease, as illustrated below.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB)

Scotland has been officially TB-free (OTF) since 2009. This unique status within the UK reflects the relatively low and stable incidence of TB in cattle and other species, and it allows Scotland to better target resources and adopt a risk-based approach to TB surveillance. The Scottish Government remains committed to a comprehensive, practical and proportionate programme of actions to maintain low TB levels and safeguard Scotland’s OTF status.

On 11 December 2018, following public consultation, we introduced new measures to incentivise compliance and best practice, while ensuring a financially sustainable compensation system. Key changes to the Tuberculosis Order included:

• post-movement testing: animals arriving in Scotland from England and Wales must remain on the destination premises until post-movement testing is completed within 60-120 days. Only animals with negative results may be moved again
• illegal movements: where animals have been illegally moved onto restricted herds and go on to become TB reactors, compensation is restricted to a £1 nominal payment
• late testing: provisions to reduce compensation where an owner has failed to have their statutory TB testing completed on time and TB reactors are subsequently disclosed. The reduction will be applied on a sliding scale
• compensation caps: to provide a compensation system that is financially sustainable for Scotland and in line with the rest of Great Britain, compensations for each individual reactor is capped at £7,500 for all purebred pedigree bovine animals and £5,000 for all non-pedigree bovine animals

We have consolidated and amended the TB Order through the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2023, which introduces further changes relating to TB diagnostic testing, cattle movements, unclean cattle, and isolation requirements. These changes support the maintenance of Scotland’s OTF status and contribute to the broader goal of eradicating bovine TB across Great Britain.

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD)

The industry-led BVD eradication programme has continued to enjoy strong engagement and support from the cattle sector. In 2019, we introduced new legislation – The Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (Scotland) Order 2019 – delivering a PfG commitment from 2017-2018. This legislation has increased pressure on herds that are not BVD-negative, particularly those retaining Persistently Infected (PI) animals. The programme has had a significant impact, with the majority of Scottish breeding holdings now achieving BVD-negative herd status. This progress has led to improvements in animal welfare and productivity, as well as increased awareness among cattle keepers about BVD and related aspects of biosecurity. As with any eradication scheme, the final stages are often the most challenging. However, Scotland is well placed to continue progressing towards this goal.

Sheep scab

Sheep scab can seriously affect both welfare and production. The Sheep Scab (Scotland) Order 2010 places a legal obligation on keepers to notify their local APHA office as soon as possible if sheep in their possession or care are affected by sheep scab. The sheep scab industry-led working group was re-established in January 2020 to discuss current developments in sheep scab diagnostics. The group has also liaised with Great Britain administrations and a Great Britain Steering Group. Moredun Research Institute had recently developed a new diagnostic test that can be used on either management groups or whole flocks to detect sub-clinical infection. We funded an awareness campaign, by the Moredun Research Institute, to highlight the benefits of the test, how it should be deployed, and how it can be combined with control methods to minimise disease spread and reduce unnecessary treatment.

We have supported an industry-led proposal for the control of sheep scab on the islands of Lewis and Harris. It aims to demonstrate how an approach involving farmers and others in the agricultural industry working together effectively can lead to solutions that improve animal health. The pilot uses recent developments to guide targeted treatment and reduce the incidence of sheep scab in hot spot areas. It aims to demonstrate a reduction of scab in an island setting, and the results will be used to develop future scab control measures that can be replicated in other islands or remote areas of Scotland.

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA)

OPA is caused by the Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), which negatively impacts sheep welfare and productivity. Ultrasound scanning of flocks is currently considered the most effective way to diagnose the disease, followed by culling of infected sheep to prevent further spread.

The OPA Industry-Led Working Group, for which we provide secretariat support, has been meeting since March 2022. The group’s aim is to explore new approaches to managing OPA in Scottish flocks, make recommendations on schemes or programmes to control OPA, support research efforts, raise industry awareness, improve understanding of disease control, and alleviate stigma associated with the disease.

In the absence of a definitive diagnostic test for live animals, we are supporting an industry-led OPA pilot, co-developed with the working group. The pilot aims to establish vital infrastructure and training to tackle the disease within the national flock. It will increase the number of veterinary practitioners trained to recognise signs of OPA in live sheep through ultrasound scanning. Sheep keepers will benefit from earlier diagnosis and interventions, allowing affected animals to be culled and removed from flocks at an earlier stage. The pilot will also help veterinary practitioners gain specialist skills in identifying signs of OPA in live sheep through scanning.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS)

PRRS is a viral disease of pigs that has a significant impact on both welfare and the economics of pig production. An estimated 40% of pig herds in Scotland are affected. The disease causes immune suppression and reproductive inefficiency in affected pigs, particularly leading to piglet mortality and increased use of antibiotics. PRRS spreads easily between premises, and without national collaboration, it is very difficult to eradicate.

In 2019, we provided funding to Wholesome pigs (a producer co-operative) through its Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF), to eliminate PRRS in the Moray coast area and gather the information and data required to facilitate a larger PRRS elimination project across Scotland. The project has served as a focal point for the industry to explore how national PRRS control and elimination could be achieved.

Raising awareness of PRRS among disease-free units has helped reinforce the importance of biosecurity in preventing its spread, with the added benefit of protecting against exotic diseases, such as ASF. The project achieved good industry engagement, including good attendance at biosecurity workshops. The project was completed in late 2020, with a full evaluation of the pilot produced. By the end of the pilot, the Moray coast had only one PRRS-positive unit, and even at this site, vaccination was being used to control the disease.

In 2024, funding was secured for year one of a national, industry-led project aimed at eradicating PRRS in Scotland and strengthening biosecurity standards on pig farms. This will be achieved by testing all pig units in Scotland to determine the current extent of disease, mapping where disease currently exists, and educating farmers on how to improve their biosecurity. This will include a veterinary visit to assess each premises and the use of an app to provide tailored biosecurity advice. Improved biosecurity will also help protect against incursions of other diseases, such as ASF, which is currently spreading at pace across Europe.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a priority in both human and animal health. The unnecessary use of antibiotics reduces the long-term efficacy of veterinary and human medicines, increasing the risk of untreatable disease developing. Scotland is a signatory to the UK’s 20 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Vision and the 5-year AMR Action Plans 2019-2024 and 2024-2029. We have convened an overarching policy group that includes experts in both human and animal health. As a result, we are working with industry and partners, including QMS and the Moredun Research Institute, to provide advice and guidance to farmers and veterinary practitioners on the responsible use of antibiotics in livestock, to ensure they remain effective.

In collaboration with QMS, we have funded a two-year pilot project for a ScotEID-developed antimicrobial use recording and monitoring system for ruminants. This system harvests data directly from veterinary practice software, thus reducing burden on keepers and vets. The positive results received so far have led QMS and ScotEID to begin developing a national roll-out plan, exploring feasibility and associated costs.

Guidance on AMR and animal health is available on the Scotland’s Healthy Animals website, alongside the inclusion of animal AMR data in the annual Scottish One Health Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance (SONAAR) report. The new five-year action plan will build on the achievements of the previous strategy, with a renewed focus on addressing endemic animal diseases, infection prevention and control, and antimicrobial usage in companion animals.

The BVD, PRRS and OPA schemes are illustrative of this approach. Cattle infected with BVD and pigs infected with PRRS are susceptible to secondary bacterial infections, which often require antibiotics. Eliminating these viruses and other endemic livestock diseases will help reduce antimicrobial use and support Scotland’s goals in preventing antimicrobial resistance.

Lesson identified: we have launched a number of initiatives targeting non-notifiable diseases, which are important for reducing antimicrobial use and improving welfare, as well as economic and environmental efficiency. These initiatives should be progressed into regional or national-level programmes to maximise their impact. There are clear linkages between animal health, human health, and environmental health. These One Health aspirations should be explicitly and practically stated in the next strategy.