New Zealands economy and agricultural sector lives and dies on its biosecurity protocols.
The worry is that in an endeavour to save money from Government departments our border security could be at risk and the overall costs if there is an outbreak will be far greater than that saved.
The PSA outbreak is a graphic illustration of what a disease outbreak can do to an industry and millions of dollars are being lost to the economy and those in that industry.
Do you have confidence in our countries biosecurity and do we have our priorities right on where public spending should be cut?
The European Union's food safety watchdog has been asked to assess the health risks posed by a new virus that has infected animals in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The Schmallenberg virus, named after the German town where it was first discovered in November, has infected cattle, sheep, and goats, causing birth defects in offspring including deformation of the head, neck and limbs.
"The European Commission has requested urgent scientific and technical assistance for possible risks resulting from the Schmallenberg virus," the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in a statement reported in Stuff.
EFSA will provide the Commission and EU governments with likely scenarios on how the insect-borne virus could affect livestock in the coming months, and will also assess possible risks to human health, the statement said.
Treasury recommendations to weaken biosecurity protection for short-term growth will undermine the long-term strength of our export economy, the Green Party said today.
Treasury made the recommendation in their Briefing to the Incoming Minister today.
Their recommendations are to reduce “at the border” barriers and to change new organisms regulations – weakening the laws around the introduction of new organisms like genetically modified organisms.
“Treasury’s advice is incredibly short-sighted and risks the long-term viability of our agriculturally-based export economy,” said Biosecurity spokesperson Steffan Browning.
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