Funding for port foot and mouth spraying is axed (From Western Telegraph)

Funding for port foot and mouth spraying is axed

VEHICLES using the Irish ferry services at Pembrokeshire's two ports will no longer be sprayed with disinfectant, because financial support for the foot and mouth precaution has been dramatically withdrawn.

The Welsh Assembly was persuaded to pay for disinfectant sprays at Fishguard and Pembroke Dock ferry ports after an outbreak of the disease in Ireland.

Until then, disinfectant mats were the only precautions in place at the disembarkation points.

Local farmers, fearing for their livelihoods, condemned the measures as inadequate.

After a series of protests, which saw farmers spraying vehicles with disinfectant, the Welsh Assembly caved in to pressure and agreed to pay contractors.

At Fishguard, Ann Morris, who is married to Puncheston agricultural contractor and dairy farmer, Eric Morris, had been in charge of the spraying operation.

She was told she would no longer be needed after Friday's 12.30pm sailing.

Tim Johns, county chairman of the Pembrokeshire NFU who farms at nearby Castlemorris, is astounded by the decision. He has been instrumental in setting up the disinfection point at Fishguard.

'If this is an indication of how the Government is going to handle the foot and mouth crisis from now on, we should all be hugely concerned,' said Mr Johns.

'Disinfecting ferry vehicles may not be regarded as a key operation in the fight against foot and mouth, but it is a relatively cheap one. It is a very worrying reflection of the way bio-security is going to be handled in the future.'

A Welsh Assembly spokeswoman declined to comment on the decision, but quoted a Government ruling which compels port operators to ensure that the tyres of road vehicles are exposed to disinfectant.