South West to Host Poultry Conference
The WCLA (West Country Layers Association) will be holding their 5th regional conference on the 25th May at the Taunton Racecourse in Somerset.
The conference theme will be ’2012 and Beyond’ and will address projections for the industry beyond the introduction of the EU Directive ’Welfare of Laying Hens’ which will be enforced on the 1st January 2012.
The conference brings together chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, Mark Williams and animal welfare campaigning MP for Tiverton and Honiton, Neil Parish, to speak on the impacts of the new legislation for the industry in the UK. Mark Williams (BEIC) has previously been outspoken about the implications of this and other EU directives governing layers in Britain, noting that whilst the industry in the UK is well placed to meet the ban on conventional cages on the 1st January deadline, other EU countries are not. Neil Parish will no doubt also provide an interesting perspective on this situation, being chairman of the Associate Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare and having led welfare campaigns against bear bile farming in China and the import of cat and dog furs.
West Country Layers Association (WCLA) has been awarded funding in conjunction with The Rural Business School at Duchy College, part of the Cornwall College Group. The South West Layers & Game Birds Initiative was launched last autumn funded through the South West Health Livestock Initiative (SWHLI), part of the Rural Development Programme for England. The project is a co-ordinated, structured and inclusive programme of Animal Health and Welfare knowledge and training support for the benefit of poultry farmers and Game Birds producers in the South West of England.
Dave Linnell, Principal of Cornwall College of which Duchy College is part, said: ’Despite being a relatively new organisation the WCLA conferences have gained a sound reputation in the layers sector for being timely, relevant and progressive: The forthcoming conference will certainly be all of these and crucially provide the opportunity for egg producers to gain important industry foresight and information.’
The conference will also host stands from industry and business, providing a hub for all poultry and layers activity and advice in the southwest.
For more information or to receive a booking form please contact Rachel Watkins on 0796 655 8386 or the Rural Business School on 0845 458 7485 or e-mail rachel.watkins@duchy.ac.uk
For further details on courses available at Duchy College please contact the College on 0845 458 7485 or visit www.duchy.ac.uk
