NFU Scotland has issued calls for the Scottish Government to preserve the nation's growing reputation for animal health and welfare by ensuring existing and future initiatives remain appropriately funded.

The Union has written to Scottish Finance Minister John Swinney, outlining its priorities on health and welfare ahead of Mr Swinney’s Scottish budget statement, expected to be delivered on Wednesday (21st September).

With Scotland now responsible for both the policy and budget on animal health and welfare matters, the financial settlement with Defra will ultimately leave Scotland looking to deliver core animal health and welfare but with smaller resources.

The Union said any decisions on budget must also take into consideration the publication earlier this year of John Ross's report on cost and responsibility sharing and the imminent publication of John Kinnaird's report into veterinary surveillance in Scotland.

NFU Scotland President and former vet, Nigel Miller said, "Since devolution, Scotland has developed a proven track record of proactive and positive animal health policies.  Now that the budget for those policies is also devolved the reality is that funding is set to tighten significantly and there will be an ongoing challenge in maintaining our strong position going forward.

"The recent Ross report recognised the need to build on the current Scottish animal health and welfare approach which remains successfully based on stakeholder engagement. While we are already in a strong position on proactive delivery, finding more cost-effective delivery mechanisms will be the big challenge and one that is essential if we are to maintain present controls and surveillance standards. 

"Meeting this challenge must be given immediate consideration.  One example is disease surveillance. This has been a central plank of AHW in Scotland for some time and we await with interest the imminent publication of John Kinnaird’s report and recommendations.  This will be a clear signal on what support is expected for delivering disease surveillance in the future."