Government urged to ‘shut the door’ on Brucella canis

The BVA president has urged politicians to help “shut the door” on Brucella canis by finally passing the long-awaited Kept Animals Bill into law.

Malcolm Morley also called for the introduction of pre-import testing for the disease as he warned of growing professional and public frustration over the stalled legislation during the organisation’s annual London dinner.

Defra minister Lord Benyon told the Westminster event on 8 March that work related to the disease was continuing and insisted the Government also remained committed to delivering the bill.

But Dr Morley argued the impact of the bill would be lost if it did not end up on the statute books in its present form.

Potential impact

Dr Morley said: “The potential impact of the bill on animal welfare is significant and it is important that the package does not get broken down.

“Its power and strength in terms of improving health and welfare of millions of animals comes from its breadth and depth, which will be lost if the bill does not continue in its current format.

“Failing to progress this bill would be a wasted opportunity to tackle measures that our profession and the public care about most deeply.

“There is a deepening sense of frustration among vets that this manifesto commitment is floundering. We urge you to do everything you can to bring it back in its current form.”

Growing concerns

Concerns have been growing for some time about the increasing threat of B canis, following dozens of cases being reported in 2022 – including the UK’s first known example of dog-to-human transmission – and confirmation in January that a new review of its potential risks is underway.

Dr Morley said the rising level of cases showed the disease was a serious threat to both veterinary teams and the wider public.

He continued: “Measures within the bill to prevent the import of puppies and pregnant bitches would contribute to reducing that risk – particularly alongside much-needed pre-import testing for Brucella canis.

“Now is the time to shut the door on this disease, and the Kept Animals Bill will contribute to that.”

Health challenges

Dr Morley also highlighted last summer’s scare over a potential foot-and-mouth disease outbreak as an example of the broader animal and public health challenges the UK faces as the battle against avian flu continues.

Although the work of Government vets was widely praised at the event, concerns remain about funding of improvements to the APHA’s Weybridge research site.

He said: “Thankfully, it was not foot-and-mouth, but I can tell you with certainty that the UK would be under resourced to handle such an incident alongside avian influenza and the same would apply to other diseases, such as African swine fever.”

Risk assessment

In his speech, Lord Benyon said he recognised the concern about B canis, though he did not directly address the question of pre-import testing, which has been advocated by other leading experts, too.

He said: “Our disease policy continues to be based on the assessment of risk and our experts are working hard to gather information on the disease risk posed by Brucella canis to inform future policy.

“We are keen to continue to work with you to monitor and to respond in the most appropriate way to all disease risks.”

Not fit for purpose

Dr Morley further renewed his attack on the Veterinary Surgeons Act, which he branded “not even fit for purpose”, as he called for all political parties to include legislative reform in their manifestos ahead of the next general election.

He said: “Vets and vet nurses do not work in isolation. We are closely supported by other allied professionals from hoof trimmers to equine dental technicians. The current act does not recognise the importance of these roles and the need to maintain standards.

“We appreciate that replacing it is unlikely to happen in this Parliament. However, there are serious implications if this legislation is not reformed for our professions and the animals we care for.”

While he acknowledged the “frustrating” delay, Lord Benyon suggested a new Veterinary Surgeons Act could still be passed before the next election, which is thought likely to be in the autumn of 2024, if sufficient parliamentary time can be secured.

On the Kept Animals Bill, he added: “We will keep pushing for this as parliamentary time allows.”