Pat's Note: I'd be a lot more impressed if the Dutch agriculture
ministry said that no rules were broken.

Defra's senior vets have an unrivaled record for lying, faking,
cheating and bribing, with regular intimidation of witnesses and
attempts to pervert the course of justice thrown in for good measure.

The Dutch can bill the costs of the exercise to the RCVS's pension
fund as a punishment for lumbering the world with such louts and
refusing to give any supervision once they join government service.

They still haven't told the truth about MRSA in pigs and were last
seen encouraging their cronies to blame the impeccable Dutch.

The very people who four years ago warned the world that MRSA in pigs
were a danger to humans.

When is the Prime Minister going to act?


http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=19983

Netherlands ban on British beef exports will devastate industry
News | 16 July, 2008 

By William Surman 
DUTCH cattle importers will ban the live export of cattle from the UK.

The ban will devastate the British export industry that has only just
been released from FMD restrictions that were imposed last year. 

The move comes after twelve calves that were exported from a single
premises in England to six farms in the Netherlands tested positive
for TB. The twelve have been subsequently slaughtered and are
undergoing further tests.

A further 27 farms that have been in contact with the original six are
now under restriction and Dutch vets are testing more than 4,000
cattle for the disease. The results are expected on Monday.

The Dutch beef industry has decided to prohibit imports of live cattle
from the UK until it can trust British biosecurity over TB.

National Beef Association director, Kim Haywood said that the ban
would devastate the UK beef export industry.

“This is catastrophic for exporters. This is a peak time for live calf
exports and Holland is our best market,” she said.

The news will also make chilling reading for Dutch farmers who have
been free of TB since 1994.

A Defra spokesman said that no rules had been broken: “We have
exported cattle in compliance with the EU trade rules and have
notified the Netherlands because the cattle in question subsequently
turned out to be from a herd that has TB. 

“At the time of export the herd from which the animals came will have
been officially TB free and the animals will have met the requirements
for intra community trade at the time of dispatch.”

Defra said that no formal contact had been made but that the chief
veterinary officer has been in touch with the Netherlands veterinary
authorities who will provide a full report on the incident. 

The incident will further fuel the debate over whether the UK is in
breach of EU rules by not following a TB eradication programme. 

-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com