FMD: UK Breeds at Risk Register
Article 15 of the European Union Council Directive 2003/85/EC on community
measures for the control of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) places a responsibility
on member states to establish a list of holdings where animals are kept
for purposes related to the conservation of animals that are indispensable
for the survival of that breed or in other words rare breeds, so that
they may benefit from any special measures that may apply at the time
of an FMD outbreak.
Inclusion on the Breeds at Risk Register means that any special measures
prevailing in the event of an FMD outbreak to conserve rare breeds could
apply to the premises, but this does not guarantee that rare breeds on
the premises would necessarily be spared. The measures would only apply
to rare breed animals on the premises and breeds not considered to be
rare would be treated with the normal procedures that come into force
at the time.
Defra, Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD), Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland (DARDNI) in partnership with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and the British Pig Association (BPA) is compiling such a list for the following domestic species:
- Cattle
- Goats
- Pigs
- Sheep
Registration is voluntary and free of charge, it is however, in the owner's or keeper's own interest to register the premises where rare breeds are kept to ensure that they can have the possibility of benefiting from any special measures that may apply or come into force for the conservation of rare breeds in the event of a future FMD outbreak.
- For pigs an electronic registration form is available.
- For rare breeds other than pigs an electronic registration form is available.
The advertisement 
(176 KB) which was placed in various farming magazines is available for
download.
Page last modified:
14 January, 2008