The Scottish Government has confirmed that it is currently assessing the legal and practical implications of making “suspicion of PEDv” legally notifiable in Scotland.
The move towards a form of notifiable status for PEDv in Scotland follows a recent meeting between government officials and NFU Scotland’s pig sector representatives, whose pigs committee chairman, Kevin Gilbert, told Pig World that he welcomed the development.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman commented that PEDv was not currently a notifiable disease in the UK and that no decision had yet been reached on the issue in Scotland. She did confirm, however, that the current “assessment” was underway.
“It is important to note that there are no known cases of the new American strain of PEDv infection in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK or EU,” she added.
“In the meantime, we are continuing to work closely with Scotland’s pig industry to take proportionate steps to control PEDv, should there be a confirmed case.”
When asked concerning the likely timescales involved, Mr Gilbert said he didn’t expect any action to be taken until the autumn, and certainly not before similar action was taken in England.