Pembrokeshire farmers and Farmers’ Union of Wales officials met with Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths at Pembrokeshire County Show to discuss the NVZ consultation and bovine TB.
FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas said: “We had a very good meeting with the Cabinet Secretary and discussed the timing of an announcement on the NVZ consultation. It was confirmed that a decision would be announced by the end of the year.
“The length of any implementation period was also highlighted as an issue, as the period of time needs to be as long as possible to enable the planning permission system to be able to cope, to ensure the availability of specialist contractors and to take account of the fact that there will be periods of the year when no construction work can take place due to weather conditions.
The NVZ consultation and the fact that 1800 farms in Pembrokeshire would be affected if plans go ahead to designate the Milford Haven and Cleddau catchment areas was also raised along with the serious financial implications which this would have for farmers.”
The changes to the TB regulations, particularly with regards to enhanced management herds and penalties being applied due to late TB tests when health and safety had been an issue, were also discussed.
“We discussed the issue of bovine TB here in the county and look forward to continuing to work with Welsh Government on progressing the matter,” said FUW Pembrokeshire County Chairman David Nicholas.