Welsh vets offered training to provide EHCs after Brexit
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, there will be a significant increase in the need for vets who can carry out certification.
Veterinary surgeons in Wales are being given training to provide Export Health Certificates (EHCs) in case of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
The Welsh Government allocated £96,000 of the £50 million EU transition fund to support the need for Export Health Certification and encourage vets to undertake training.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, EHCs will be required to export produce of animal origin to EU countries, prompting a significant increase in the need for vets who are able to carry out certification.
Usually, the necessary training is paid for by the veterinary surgeon undertaking the course, but the Welsh Government is hoping to provide an incentive for more vets.
A new scheme is supporting training for a minimum of 80 vets across Wales. More vets are expected to sign up before training completes at the end of February. The scheme will be administered by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, in collaboration with delivery partners lechyd Da and Menter a Busnes.
Lesley Griffiths, Welsh minister for environment, energy and rural affairs, said: “It is possible– if a no deal is taken off the table this extra capacity will not be required but we must prepare for all eventualities. However, the training would not have been wasted as the skills are transferable and would strengthen the important certification role of the veterinary profession in Wales."
She added: “We have always been clear a no deal Brexit is not an option for Wales’ food industry. Crashing out of the European Union could decimate economies and must be avoided at all costs. Our preference would be a ‘softer’ Brexit – one that allows us to stay in a customs union and a single market.
“With no new ideas and red lines firmly still in place, the UK Government is simply running down the clock in a vain hope that their deal will pass. They must take decisive action now and act on the majority will of Parliament to rule out no deal.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
