FUW President demands Westminster pays for FMD

THE government was urged to follow its own "polluter pays" policy when it comes dealing with the aftermath of the FMD outbreak during a Countryside Alliance fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth.

Addressing an audience which included Defra Minister Lord Rooker, Farmers' Union of Wales president, Gareth Vaughan said there is an acute air of anger and disbelief that a government-managed research site allowed the release of a disease that cost the lives of eight million animals in 2001.

"It is a disease so virulent that, even as we speak, it is affecting the lives and incomes of people as far a field as the Scottish Hebrides."

Mr Vaughan added that fuelling this anger was a phrase that had been drummed into the minds of farmers by the Government over many years - "The polluter pays".

He added that by following this rule many farmers had been forced to pay vast sums of money for genuine unforeseeable accidents that had minor consequences and he urged the government to follow its own policy.

"In this case, that pollution is set to cause severe animal suffering, severe financial hardships for rural communities, and is likely to lead to many going out of business. So the question on everyone's lips is: ''Will the polluter follow its own policy - will the polluter pay?''

"I would argue that the Government has a moral obligation to compensate rural communities throughout the UK - perhaps far more than any moral obligation to bail out a bank that made risky investments, as has recently been done.

"I would therefore urge this government to endeavour to not only build bridges between our urban and rural communities, but also to accept the responsibility for their actions or inactions, along with the responsibility for the costs that come when these have not been honoured."

In a speech that also centred on building bridges between town and country he called for people to be educated about the essential nature of farming communities.

He said: "Those bridges involve re-educating people from all cultures about the essential role that both rural and urban communities play in our lives; for example, the importance of supporting British agriculture by buying locally produced food in order to preserve the landscape and culture that are clearly so enjoyed by our townsfolk, and the importance to farming communities of respecting and communicating with their biggest customer, which is urban Britain.

"But the government has an important role to play in ensuring that supermarkets and the larger retailers give a fair deal to consumers and producers."

Dealing with the ban on fox hunting, Mr Vaughan emphasised that FUW members were primarily interested in an effective pest control service. He also called on the government to introduce tighter controls on the spread of bovine TB.

"The current refusal to deal with TB in an holistic way is unacceptable. Measures must be taken urgently for the benefit of both the UK cattle herd and the badger population as a whole."

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