MINISTERS are alarmed by the threat of a new disease risk to humans or animals as vets give up farm work to care exclusively for pets.

The loss of the James Herriot-style country practice depicted in All Creatures Great And Small has left some parts of the country without any veterinary surveillance on farms, fuelling concerns that new diseases could spread unchecked.

The situation is particularly acute in areas such as Essex, East Anglia and Sussex where livestock farming is no longer a mainstream activity. The situation is just as critical in a number of upland areas, such as Mid-Wales and Cumbria, where farmers often cannot afford veterinary fees.

The growth of pet insurance schemes is partly responsible for the shift, as it guarantees the payment of vets’ bills. However, the situation is also blamed on popular television programmes, such as Rolf Harris’s Animal Hospital, which influence young vets to work in urban practices.

Senior vets meeting at their annual congress at the weekend spoke of the problem and the risk of new epidemics.

Roger Eddy, a past president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), said: “It is not just the fear that a whole range of endemic diseases may go unchecked. We are in a global theatre and know there will be new diseases imported.”

Specific fears are for the arrival of Western Nile fever, carried by mosquitoes and which is fatal to humans and horses. The virus is already in the US, North Africa and parts of southern Europe. Another threat is Blue Tongue, a disease transferred by midges, which is fatal to sheep.

The Government is discussing how to address the problem. A report from a parliamentary inquiry is due next month.

One possibility is to enlist a network of people, less qualified than vets, to act as “disease spotters” on farms and to alert state vets to any unusual symptoms or trends. There are 10,000 vets in about 3,000 practices. Only 960 practices carry out farm work and an analysis of their workload shows that just 15 per cent of veterinary time is spent on farm calls, and some 75 per cent on dogs and cats, and the rest on horses, other animals and administration.

A survey for the RCVS showed that since 1998 work with cattle declined from 14 per cent to 7.5 per cent last year, sheep from 4 per cent to 1.3 per cent and pigs from 2 per cent to 0.4 per cent.

Farmers just can't afford to pay

THE Ash Tree Veterinary Practice in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, has given up all farm animal work to concentrate on pet care.

David Butler, its senior partner, said that he had no choice. A farm vet could not rely on two or three call-outs from farmers in a fortnight. Instead, the practice now looks after about 60 pets a day.

He said: “We felt that we could no longer offer to train young vets in farm work because they just would not get the relevant experience with us. If you don’t get the calls, you can’t get the practice or the confidence in treating the animals.”

Mr Butler said that 25 years ago there were nearly 30 dairy or beef farms in the practice. Now there were three. “That is not enough to keep you in business. This is a very rural area but farming is in the doldrums.”

The practice employs six vets and holds surgeries in Market Harborough, Kibworth and Rothwell. He said: “We realised we just could not continue with farm work any more because the profits were marginal. At least if you are seeing 20 pets in every surgery, you can make a living. I miss the farm work but I don’t regret it.

“I miss visiting farms but it’s not happening, because farmers just can’t afford to pay. I’m worried too because I now think farmers are buying over-the-counter medicines from wholesalers, without advice.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Oh no, Mr Darling: you have failed
• BBC survives dogfight over Kennel Club expose
• Where the Rosetta belongs can’t be set in stone