SHEEP IMPORTS AND SCRAPIE

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 28002, 23 June 1956, Page 7

SHEEP IMPORTS AND SCRAPIE

QUESTION OF BAN DISCUSSED

BRITISH BREEDERS RESTIVE

A matter of considerable interest to sheepmen was recently discussed in the correspondence columns of “The Pastoral Review” (Melbourne). It was a letter to the editor from Mr Hector J. Monro, secretary, National Sheep Breeders' Association, London. The text is as follows: f “As you must know ohly too well, there has been a ban on the export of sheep from this country to Australia for some years now owing to the unfortunate cases of scrapie in one or two Suffolk sheep. A similar ban exists relative to sheep exports to New Zealand, Canada. United States of America, and Peru, but exports from this country have continued steadily to all other parts of the world without any further scrapie incident.

“In order to do everything possible with a view to raising those bans, or in some way modifying them, the National Sheep Breeders’ Association appointed a most able Scrapie Investigation Committee last October. As one of the results the research work in Scotland and England has been considerably intensified. In view, however, of the long incubation period it may well be that some considerable time has yet to elapse before safeguards adequate to comply with the wishes of the countries concerned will enable them to remove their existing import bans.

Individual Breeders’ Wishes “In the meantime it is the earnest desire of our Scrapie Investigation Committee to be in a position to gauge with some accuracy the extent of individual breeders’ wishes in each country concerned to be able to purchase sheep from the United Kingdom, particularly from those breeds which have never known a case of scrapie, and naturally in accordance with such safeguards as the authorities in the importing country concerned desire to impose. In other words, could you give us any indication of the extent to which’ you may know Australian breeders are anxious to have this ban removed, as so’on as adequate safeguards have been built up and put into operation? Or would you say that any appreciable number of breeders are content with the existing situation? “Incidentally, I have had correspondence or conversations with numerous breeders from Australia, a number of whom had not appreciated how complete the existing ban against them buying sheep in this country really was.”