The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) was yesterday (1 October) celebrating a decade of its world-leading efforts to safeguard both animal and plant health on the domestic and international stage.

The agency was launched in its current form on 1 October 2014, merging the former Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) with parts of the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) responsible for plant and bee health to create a single agency responsible for animal, plant and bee health.

Over the past ten years APHA has been at the forefront of identifying and controlling endemic and exotic diseases and pests in animals, plants and bees, and surveillance of new and emerging pests and diseases.

APHA’s headquarters in Weybridge is the UK’s primary capability for managing the threats posed by the spread of diseases carried by animals, many of which pose a significant threat to public health, the economy, and the environment. The threat from zoonotic diseases is increasing, with nearly two-thirds of infectious diseases in humans originating in animals.

The Agency is currently leading the operational response to the impacts of bluetongue virus (BTV-3) which has been affecting farmers across the country. APHA specialist officers and vets have been working around the clock identifying affected cattle and helping farmers cope with rising cases of this disease.

Tackling the threat of yellow-legged hornets, also known as Asian hornets, has also been a top priority with Bee Inspectors from APHA’s National Bee Unit working on the frontline in South East England in particular with the local Yellow-Legged (Asian) Hornet Teams (YLHTs). APHA’s Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors have been working to eradicate the first outbreak of Colorado potato beetle since 1977 last year.

Animal Plant Health Agency Chief Executive Jenny Stewart said:

“APHA has been at the forefront of tackling disease for a decade, with our experts working around the clock to anticipate any threats to the UK’s biosecurity.

“I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our exceptionally hard-working staff who have been at the heart of exciting new scientific research and on the frontlines against invasive species and diseases like bluetongue over the past ten years.

“We will continue our work to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy.”

 Some of the vital work over the past decade and why it is so important includes:

• Conducting world-leading research in various areas including parasitic diseases and vaccines, and food safety.
• Employing over 900 scientists, including world leaders in Avian Influenza, Rabies and Brucellosis, with most of them based at the Weybridge site which plays a key role in the development of the next generation of UK scientists
• Contributing to global science: APHA Weybridge is an International Reference Laboratory for 23 international and 49 national animal and plant health specialisms. The agency works in collaboration with organisations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation to help tackle a range of global diseases such as rabies, brucellosis and plant pathogens such as Xylella fastidiosa.
• APHA works all year round to carrying out surveillance for notifiable pests and diseases. The agency played a leading role in dealing with the UK’s largest avian influenza outbreak between 2021-2023 through sampling and testing both wild and farmed birds.
• Invasive non-native species are one of the biggest threats to global biodiversity and cost the GB economy nearly £1.9 billion per annum in direct costs. APHA’s border teams work hard to prevent more species from being introduced and becoming established, while APHA’s Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate manage the risks posed by plant pests and pathogens at Border Control Posts such as Harwich.
• The export of livestock, meat and meat products, dairy and animal by-products is worth £12 billion per year to the UK economy. As the Agency responsible for protecting the UK from threats to animal health, plant health and animal welfare, our challenge is to deliver a seamless border using the latest technology to enable easy, low cost, as frictionless as possible trade while maintaining the UK’s biosecurity.

APHA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Welsh Government, and The Scottish Government.