Closing the Inverness veterinary disease surveillance centre is a short-sighted and dangerous move.
Disease surveillance is paramount to the future success of the Scottish farming.
We need only look south of the border to see the devastating impact diseases such as TB can have.
If farm minister Richard Lochhead’s ambition is to have a healthy, vibrant sector then why is he allowing SRUC to put this at risk?
Monitoring and keeping disease at bay is not a mere whim on farming’s wish-list, but a vital must-have.
As a farmer’s daughter from the Isle of Lewis I can only imagine the hassle the site’s closure will cause farmers and crofters on the west coast.
It is highly unlikely a farmer from the islands would afford the time or money to lug a dead cow or sheep all the way to Inverurie to find out what had caused its untimely death.
I urge all crofters and farmers in the Highlands and Islands to oppose the site’s closure in SRUC’s consultation.
There’s less than a week to respond – the consultation closes next Friday.
Comment: Closing the Inverness disease surveillance centre is a dangerous move
