Apha launches vet recruitment drive to maintain services
© Tim Scrivener The Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) is recruiting field vets across various locations in England to stay at the forefront of tackling animal diseases.
The 30 positions available cover areas such as Bakewell, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Crewe, Exeter, Horley, Launceston, Leicester, Lincoln, Manchester, Norwich, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Truro, Wallingford and Worcester.
See also: Meat trade demands better conditions for abattoir vets
“We are at the forefront of tackling animal disease outbreaks, with our experts working around the clock to protect our nation,” said an Apha spokesman.
Maintaining appropriate staffing levels was “business as usual” and not due to any specific disease threat, Apha said, dismissing suggestions on social media that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or African swine fever was imminent.
Former Farmers’ Union of Wales policy director Nick Fenwick, who farms beef and sheep near Machynlleth, said: “It’s easy to get paranoid or conspiratorial about it, but we’d be the first to raise concerns if the government wasn’t prepared.
“Hopefully it’s a case of ‘plan for the worst, hope for the best’ given what’s happening in eastern Europe and in terms of bluetongue and other diseases.”
Dr Fenwick added that Defra’s apparent planned increase in spending on vets will feel “like a kick in the teeth given the rises in official vet charges in our already struggling abattoirs”.