A hill farmer from Inveraray in Argyll has accused the Scottish Government minister Lorna Slater of ”dragging her heels” as he urgently calls on the emergency authorisation for the bracken control herbicide Asulam.
Brian Walker, a tenant farmer at Carloonan Farm, said if the Scottish Government failed to provide authorisation, it would be a ”dereliction of duty” to protect farmers, crofters, the rural workforce and public health.
Mr Walker looks after 2,500 acres of hill ground with 80 suckler cows and 950 breeding ewes and says he has never before seen more cows coming off the hill this spring covered in ticks.
“The Scottish Government Minister Lorna Slater is dragging her heels because Asulam is a herbicide,” said Mr Walker.
“But the truth is that the negative impacts of not controlling bracken far outweigh those of using Asulam to control it. In fact, by not spraying bracken to prevent it growing, it will actually lead to more chemicals being used. This is because bracken is the perfect harbour for ticks.
“The warm temperatures in the dead bracken over the winter months makes it the perfect place for them to survive and breed over winter.”
Mr Walker said the bracken is having a devastating impact on his animals.
“Once an animal becomes a host for ticks, we have to use a chemical – like spot-on treatments used on cats and dogs – to get rid of them. If we don’t do this, it could lead to the animals getting seriously ill.
“Redwater disease in cattle and louping ill in sheep are nasty diseases. So, it is ironic that to protect our animals, we would have to use chemicals on them, rather than control the problem at the source by removing bracken.”
He also raised the point that by not controlling bracken, it could have a serious detrimental impact to the general public.
“Bracken is carcinogenic and there have been increased reports of its spores entering watercourses,” he added.
“In Inveraray, tourists used to wander round the town and the castle, but now, we have more people coming up to the estate and going into wilder hill ground where they are coming into contact with bracken.
“Reports have also shown that 20 years ago, 0.01 per cent of the tick population were thought to harbour infection. Today that figure is 20%. Tick populations are multiplying, and they will multiply even quicker if Scottish Government fails to authorise Asulam for bracken control.
“It’s vital that the Scottish Government makes a decision on this urgently. Aerial contractors only have a short window to spray the bracken. They also need to order the chemical from overseas, which can take up to six weeks. They can only do this when the emergency authorisation has been approved.”
