BVA welcomes Defra commitment to tackling red tape

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has welcomed a recent pledge by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to cut the amount of red tape affecting the agriculture sector.

Defra has accepted the majority of recommendations from a recent Farming Regulation Task Force, which suggested many layers of bureaucracy governing the animal health sector can be removed, without affecting welfare standards.

For example, Defra has committed to carrying out fewer inspections for farmers who already meet high environmental and animal welfare standards, while the potential removal of the six-day livestock standstill rule is also under consideration.

BVA president Carl Padgett said any deregulation process must be handled with care so as not to undermine the benefits of strong governance, but expressed support for Defra's new stance.

He said the BVA "supports the principle of earned recognition and the use of third-party assurance schemes where those schemes are able to address animal health and welfare and food safety issues, and are robustly audited".

This week, the organisation also issued a call for more to be done to improve animal welfare standards as pertains to the practice of dog breeding, following the airing of a BBC documentary on the issue.