British Livestock Genetics





Latest News			BSE: UK beef embargo to be lifted
Flying the Flag in the west [27 Sep 07] Find Us in Asia [27 Sep 07] Global threat to pork industr [27 Sep 07] Certification updates [03 Aug 07] JSR brings the pig world to Yorkshire [07 Jul 07] Harper Adams College and JSR team up for new research [07 Jul 07] EBLEX beefs up eating quality [07 Jul 07] Meat Industry Figures [02 Jul 07] Into Africa [27 Mar 07] One million pounds we didn't have a year ago! [27 Mar 07] What's happening to British calf numbers and price [25 Mar 07] Sauvignon Reigns in France [24 Mar 07] Nine Hereford bulls go to France [24 Mar 07] Herefords return to Germany and France [27 Feb 07] "British Livestock" a new magazine [23 Feb 07] Export boost for Aberdeen-Angus [11 Feb 07] Sexed Limousin Semen - a world first! [11 Feb 07] Animal welfare in transport: new EU rules enter into force [5 Jan 07] Opportunities in the genetics of cattle health and beef production [4 Jan 07] Charolais genetics exported down under [11 Dec 06] British Charolais makes breed debut in Romania [17 Oct 06] Counting sheep - UK/USA [08 Oct 06] Boom Time for British Breeding Pig Exports [06 Oct 06] New Pig Centre Links Farm to Lab [06 Oct 06] Encouraging signs from UK Pig Census [09 Sept 06] New semen sexing technology [06 Sept 06] WeideFestival - First steps back into Europe [21 August 06] Expointer And 100 Years of Devons in Brazil [10 August 06] First British Charolais & Limousin semen exported to Mexico [10 August 06] JSR plays a major role in Polish pig expansion [7 August 06] Limousins are first British cattle into Poland [7 August 06] Aberdeen-Angus export breakthroughs [29 June 06] Gene markers boost performance [21 June 06] Tiger economy in sheep's clothing [20 June 06] Strong Start for English Beef Exports [6 June 06] Facts at your fingertips! [22 May 06] Beefing up exports to Switzerland [3 May 06] Tally-ho! Sensible eco-friendly tallow decision [27 Apr 06] Danish breeding pig exports up 15% in 2004/05 [24 Apr 06] There's animal welfare UK style or other styles [21 Mar 06] BSE: UK beef embargo to be lifted. [08 Mar 06] UK venture targets pigs in the east [27 Feb 06] Cogent Sexed Semen - A globally proven product [21 Feb 06] Meat imports drop in UK as production soars [09 Feb 06] Nice, if you can get it! [17 Jan 06] Newdawn for the British pig industry [13 Jan 06] SWALEX Success as Cumbrian sheep arrive in Estonia [22 Dec 05] British Global Genetic Giants to merge [29 Oct 05] Cattle exports going well for European countries [29 Oct 05] Birth Data Highlight Beef Herd Changes [8 July 05] Semen Exports’ £7 million boom [3 July 05] Britbreed joins forces with CBS Technologies under the umbrella of Innovis™ [14 June 05] Sympa and Goldies Terence arrive in Oz, and more Opera [6 June 05] Firsts for British rare breeds pigs [27 May 05] Genus reopens Brazil’s door to cattle semen exports [25 Apr 05] National UK Dairy database launched for performance & welfare improvement [21 Apr 05] Red faces? No, yet more sheep breeding developments in Britain! [18 Apr 05] British Pig Association Active in Asia [15 Apr 05] UK now a moderate risk BSE area [22 Mar 05] British Ambience draws international crowds at SIA [22 Mar 05] Onwards in Black and White [21 Mar 05] Livestock Links Forged with distant Nagaland [11 Mar 05] New UK dairy genetics testing programme for "Grazing Kings" [13 Jan 05] Beef and lamb sales in Britain soar [21 Jan 05] Nice Limousin calves Downunder! [14 Dec 04] Fourth proven Montbeliarde joins Genus stud [13 Dec 04] Dream team for Charollais sires [24 Nov 04] Bull prices follow performance, yet again! [2 Nov 04] Click on any of the news stories above for further information			The European Union's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health today adopted unanimously a favourable opinion on a European Commission proposal to lift the embargo on UK exports of live cattle, beef and beef products.. The proposal is now expected to be adopted by the Commission in about 6 weeks time, as the European Parliament has a one month right of scrutiny. The ban on the export of UK beef was issued in March 1996 (with certain derogations introduced in 1999), due to the high incidence of BSE cases in the UK at the time. The proposal was made on the basis that the UK has fulfilled the conditions laid down by the Commission in its TSE Road Map (adopted in July 2005) in order for the ban to be lifted. These were to have an incidence of BSE below a certain level and to demonstrate that the BSE controls laid down in EU legislation were being fully and properly applied. Once the proposal is adopted and published in the Official Journal, the UK will be able to export live cattle born after 1 August 1996, and bovine meat and products produced after 15 June 2005, under the same terms as other Member States. Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, said "The Commission has taken no chances when it has come to dealing with BSE, and the most stringent monitoring and control measures have been applied. Precautionary measures, including the embargo on UK beef exports, were taken when deemed necessary to fully protect consumers. However, the UK has made great strides in tackling this disease, and has met all of the criteria that were set for the lifting of the beef export ban, in line with scientific and veterinary advice. We must now acknowledge this and resume normal trade in this area." UK beef ban The export ban on UK calves (for slaughter by 6 months), their meat and products, has been in place since March 1996 whilst the export ban on breeding and older cattle has been in place since 1989. In 1999, the ban was amended to allow de-boned beef and beef products from the UK produced under the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) to be exported. Under the DBES, the UK could export beef and products from cattle born after 1 August 1996, subject to a series of strict and limited conditions. These included requirements that the animal was between 6 and 30 months old, had been clearly traced and identified throughout its lifetime, its mother did not develop BSE, and that beef from cattle older than 9 months was de-boned. In practice, these constraints in the DBES restricted the export of any significant amount of UK beef. Moving towards lifting the ban The possible lifting of the UK embargo was foreseen in the European Commission's TSE Roadmap published in July 2005 and discussed with the European Parliament and Council (see IP/05/952). The Commission laid out very clear conditions which had to be met before the restrictions on UK beef exports could be lifted. Firstly, the UK would have to have a BSE incidence below 200 cases per million animals, and secondly, the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) would have to deliver a favourable report on the enforcement of BSE controls in the UK and its compliance with EU legislation in this field. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an Opinion in May 2004, confirming that BSE incidence in the UK was below 200 cases per million, and therefore not anymore considered a high BSE risk country. In June 2005, an inspection carried out by the EU Food and Veterinary Office confirmed that BSE controls were being properly enforced in the UK, and that its compliance with EU legislation, particularly in relation to identification and registration of bovine animals and testing, was satisfactory. Resuming trade Under today's agreement to lift the embargo, the UK will be allowed to resume exports of all live animals born after 1 August 1996. This is the date when the EU meat-and-bonemeal feed ban entered into effect and, under EU legislation, no cattle born before this date are allowed enter the food chain under any circumstances. UK meat and meat products produced after 15 June 2005 (linked to the date of the favourable FVO inspection) will also be allowed to be traded freely. The UK will have to adjust its legislation for beef-on-the-bone, and reduce its current age limit of 30 months for the removal of the vertebral column to 24 months. This will bring it in line with the 24 month rule applied by all other Member States (see IP/05/1223), and set the UK on equal footing in terms of trade. Next steps The decision to lift the UK embargo will now be sent to the European Parliament, which has a right of scrutiny during one month. The legal texts related to lifting the embargo will then be formally adopted by the Commission and published in the Official Journal, after which they will immediately enter into force ( which normally takes an additional two weeks). [8 Mar '06] Official information of the European Commission is available at any time at http://europa.eu.int/rapid/ The British Livestock Genetics Consortium (BLG) and its members greatly welcome this long-awaited decision and look forward to normality within the EU so Britain might trade its famous and highly regarded breeding stock in company with its European partners. We welcome enquiries. Breeders in other countries will have to await their Government agreeing import terms.