The Royal College of Pathologists is concerned that closure of Animal Health Laboratories could leave the UK vulnerable to African Swine Fever and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea.

Warning that move could also shake confidence in £10bn livestock industry

The closure of half of the animal health laboratories in England and Wales from today could lead jeopardise animal welfare, confidence in the £10bn livestock industry, and pose a risk to public health, a leading body has warned.

The Royal College of Pathologists is calling for an urgent review of plans to cut the number of animal health surveillance laboratories from 14 to seven.

Dr Archie Prentice, President of the Royal College of Pathologists said: "These plans do not seem to be based on sound evidence but on cost cutting; the effect will be a halving of the existing network of surveillance post-mortem examination facilities.

"We think these changes should have been piloted before roll-out. We are not opposed to change but it is vital that expertise in veterinary pathology is sustained and improve so that surveillance if more effective, not less."

DEFRA say the changes represent an "improved approach for surveillance for new and re-emerging animal diseases and other animal related threats" and say the decision was based on the recommendations of an independent advisory group.

Although it will have a smaller network of sites, it will procure extra services from veterinary surgeons to enable a "large increase" in farm animal post-mortem examinations, and will use industry and academic sources to gather intelligence.

But the Royal college say it fears viruses such as African Swine Fever, confirmed in Poland, and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea which has killed four million pigs in America, could spread to the UK and questions how the new systems of disease surveillance and intelligence sharing will actually work.

"There has been no explanation of how outsourcing tests to services outside DEFRA control will provide high-quality, effective testing," said a college spokesman.

Among the concerns its raised is whether there will be sufficient numbers of veterinary pathologists working with livestock, and how the intelligence gathered will be properly collated and assessed.

Dr Prentice said: "Prompt laboratory analysis was the pivotal component of the identification of Schmallenberg virus and laboratory diagnostics have improved greatly in the last decade.

"If current molecular and cellular pathology techniques were applied to a case of BSE (mad cow disease), confirmation that it was a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy could be confirmed within days.

"We should be looking for ways to sustain and improve expertise in veterinary pathology.

"We fear the current proposals - which seem to be based on unfounded opinions and untested assumptions - are likely to damage it."