The Specified Diseases (Notification) Amendment (Scotland) Order 2016

Overview

Porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) is a highly infectious disease of pigs that spreads very easily. Representatives of the pig industry have requested that Scottish Government make PED notifiable to an industry led body. This would allow an incursion of PED to be identified as soon as possible and help support the industry’s voluntary contingency plan to control and eradicate any incursion of PED. This consultation applies to Scotland only.

Why your views matter

The Scottish Government is consulting on an industry led proposal to introduce legislation (The Specified Diseases (Notification) Amendment (Scotland) Order 2016) that will place a legal obligation on:

• a person who has in their possession or under their charge a pig or pig carcase;
• a veterinary surgeon or other person who examines or inspects a pig or pig carcase;
• a person who, following analysis of a sample taken from a pig or pig carcase;

which they know or reasonably suspects that a pig may be infected with PED to notify a person authorised by Scottish Ministers as soon as practicable. The industry PED plan is based on QMS taking a leading role. Scottish Ministers will authorise Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) as the “authorised body” for reporting suspicion of PED.

It will be mandatory at the time of notification to provide information on the name, full address and telephone number(s) of the pig keeper, and the location (including CPH number) of where the suspect or infected pigs are kept

What happens next

The consultation received 11 responses, which are published below along with an analysis report.  Respondents unanimously supported the proposal to make PED a notifiable disease.

On 25 January 2016 The Specified Diseases (Notification) Amendment (Scotland) Order 2016 was laid in Parliament.  Subject to Parliamentary scrutiny, the order will come into force on 2^nd March.