Fiona Bruce MP brings MEP to meet Farmers to discuss problem of Bovine TB
Fiona Bruce brought Sajjad Karim MEP to meet with farmers from across the constituency last week to discuss Cheshire farming and the growing problem of bovine TB in their cattle herds. Bovine TB is becoming an increasingly dire problem for farmers in Cheshire as the disease has spread from the surrounding areas and local farmers report that the worry caused in terms of the potential damage to their herd is immense.
The local farmers were able to raise these concerns with the MEP and to impress upon him the gravity of the problem in this area.
Local farmer Stuart Yarwood said of the meeting “We were extremely grateful to Fiona Bruce for giving us the opportunity to discuss Cheshire farming with Sajjad Karim MEP. He understood the serious issue of bovine TB in our cattle herds and reassured us that EU funding to control this disease would be maintained. With so much of agriculture affected by EU regulations we look forward to continuing this dialogue with him in the future.”
Fiona Bruce MP said:
“I arranged this meeting because with so much of the legislation that affects farmers and farming coming from the EU I felt it vital that our farmers were able to talk face-to-face with an MEP.
Farming is so important to the local economy and the threat posed by and impact of bovine TB is very real. Sajjad Karim listened very carefully to the concerns of the farmers and promised to take them back to the European Parliament. I asked him specifically to obtain a response from the EU Commissioner for Agriculture as to why I hear in the UK Parliament that the EU is stopping vaccinations which would help prevent the spread of TB.”
Sajjad Karim MEP said
“I know Fiona is a strong supporter of the agricultural community and holds regular meetings with local farmers, so I very much welcome the opportunity to hear their concerns first hand and to widen the discussion to cover EU issues. It was a lively exchange, I learnt a lot from the conversation. I particularly noted the concerns regarding the spread and prevention of Bovine TB, as discussed I will raise the matter of vaccination and funding directly with the Commissioner and come back with a response.”
