Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. I quite agree with Janet Finch-Saunders; it is absolutely not a laughing matter. Sheep scab is one of the most contagious diseases of sheep in Wales, and it's a really difficult challenge to our sheep industry. Eradicating this disease is important not just to me but for everyone who cares about the health and welfare of our national flock. Affected animals can suffer greatly and this disease is major threat to sheep welfare. Bristol university, in a recent study, estimated that sheep scab costs the UK industry between £78 million and £202 million every year in terms of production losses and treatment expenses.

Therefore, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of industry working in partnership and sharing the responsibility of eradicating sheep scab from Wales with Government and the animal health and welfare framework group, who have long recognised this issue and made it a priority. Janet Finch-Saunders says that farmers need to take a collaborative approach to the disease, and then every Member who's contributed seems to put everything on the Welsh Government. We have had free testing, we ran a pilot scheme over the winter, and we have worked very closely with the industry in relation to sheep scab. The keepers of our 9.5 million ewes and lambs in Wales count on us all to work together if we are going to tackle this disease. 

Here in Wales, the disease is addressed through the Wales animal health and welfare framework, and I want to remind Members of its goals, all of which are impacted upon by sheep scab. Wales has healthy, productive animals. Animals in Wales have a good quality of life. People trust and have confidence in the way food is produced. Wales has a thriving rural economy and Wales has a high-quality environment. I'll return to these goals as they really do relate to sheep scab. Our framework also sets out key principles in the way these goals will be achieved. They're particularly relevant to the effective control and eradication of sheep scab, so I would like to focus on them.

Firstly, the principle of prevention is better than cure, and this means that those who keep sheep have a responsibility to practise good biosecurity and prevent them from becoming infected with the sheep scab mite. Most sheep farmers in Wales of course do so as part of the health planning process with their vet, but some of their efforts are put at risk by a small minority who do not. Maintaining secure boundaries, investigating the health status before purchasing, quarantining newly bought-in sheep and using routine preventative measures are paramount to the stopping of the spread of scab.

The second principle is understanding and accepting roles and responsibilities. For sheep scab, this means each and every keeper of sheep recognising their responsibility to ensure that their animals are kept free of scab. They have a duty to notify local authorities of cases of sheep scab on their farm and other farms and to treat it immediately and effectively if it does occur.

The third principle is working in partnership, and whilst sheep scab is primarily the responsibility of individual sheep farmers and the broader sheep industry, it is a priority for our animal health and welfare framework group and this has led to useful support, including financial, to bring about improved control. Our framework group commissioned a study from the University of Bristol in 2018 to determine the prevalence of the disease in Wales. Sixteen per cent of the Welsh farmers who responded to the study survey said that their sheep had had scab in the previous year. However, recent reports of resistance to the injectable treatment on Welsh farms may destabilise this pattern in the future.

In collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, we've also funded two periods of free sheep scab testing for sheep farmers in Wales who suspect their sheep may be infected. These have been highly successful in raising awareness of the importance of obtaining an accurate diagnosis in order to instigate effective treatment. We've also sponsored a proof of concept pilot project to implement new and innovative ways to control sheep scab. The project facilitated local disease control groups to take ownership of outbreaks when they occurred and empowered sheep keepers to work collectively to stamp out the disease in the area.

The project trialled the use of an innovative ELISA blood diagnostics test to identify scab in neighbouring at-risk flocks. and, with the 'one health' agenda in mind, an environmentally conscious treatment by using mobile dipping units to safely and effectively treat affected flocks. The treatments for sheep scab are now very limited and have to be used appropriately if they are to remain effective. The use of professional mobile dippers is an effective way to treat the disease without the risk of environmental damage and resistant strains in mites.

Returning to the goals of our framework, effective control of sheep scab, both on a local and national scale, is essential. Sheep must be scab free to be productive and to have a good quality of life. Our industry must relieve itself of the cost of this disease, which needs to be controlled for consumers to have confidence in Welsh lamb. Treatments must be administered correctly for our environment to be protected. Eradicating sheep scab is no less ambitious set against an uncertain landscape. However, we will continue our unwavering focus on making improvements in standards of health and welfare for all animals kept in Wales. Our core principle—prevention is better than cure—is central to our work as we promote active animal health planning and the considerable benefits it can provide for individual farm businesses and the wider industry in Wales. Diolch.