The new Ruminant Health and Welfare Group (RHWG) will be formed on 1 April following a consultation on the issue that received widespread support for the creation of such an initiative.
The consultation was facilitated on behalf of the ruminant industry by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), Hybu Cig Cymru/Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) and Livestock and Meat Commission (Northern Ireland)
The RHWG will be an independent industry group, but set-up as a committee under the AHDB operating umbrella to minimise operating costs and governance complexities. Technical and scientific expertise will be central to its work and will be sought for individual projects as appropriate.
AHDB will provide beef, sheep and dairy levy-funding for RHWG to cover the cost of the chair and secretariat. This will predominantly come from the existing AHDB funding for the Cattle Health and Welfare Group (CHAWG) and Sheep Health and Welfare Group (SHAWG), in England. There will be a transition period from 1 April 2020 for these committees to work alongside the RHWG and agree which workstreams will be transferred and which will close.
AHDB chief technical officer Rebecca Geraghty said: “The case for change is compelling. Despite a number of worthwhile initiatives and significant progress in some areas to date, endemic diseases in ruminants continue to have a major impact on our industry’s performance and profitability.
“Reducing the scale and impact of endemic diseases in a meaningful way would build our industry’s resilience in the face of economic challenges such as Brexit. It would also go a significant way to improving our environmental impact.
“In terms of export of meat and dairy, there has been a broad recognition that having a high national animal health and welfare status would enable the UK to access more markets.
“The broad agreement from discussions with government, devolved administrations and industry over the past 18 months is that the time is right for a clear, united UK-wide industry voice. This would act as a welcome driver for a simpler, more co-ordinated and more widely committed approach to ruminant health and welfare across all parts of the UK.