4. Urgent Question: Avian Flu

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:17 pm on 7 December 2016.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 3:17, 7 December 2016

Thank you. Well, the press release did go out from my office last night, so I’m not quite sure why the press release wasn’t picked up. That’s not something, obviously, I have control over. The decision wasn’t taken jointly with UK Government, with DEFRA, or with Scotland. I had conversations with our chief veterinary officer yesterday. She has been in very close contact with, obviously, the CVOs from Scotland and England also. The order I signed last night is for 30 days, so it will last until 6 January. During that period of time, we will continue to monitor very closely. As I said, it is a precautionary measure that we’ve taken. I think the issue you raised about public trust in the food chain is very important, so it’s very good to have the opportunity here. I know the Food Standards Agency has said that the current scientific evidence or advice is that bird flu does not pose a food safety risk to UK consumers. Eggs are safe, for instance. I think it’s also very important for me to say that there have been no cases of avian flu found in Wales or in the UK, but we are monitoring the situation very closely.