THE first batch of ideas for an animal health master plan have emerged from a meeting in Northallerton.

The first of a series of regional consultation sessions on a future animal health and welfare strategy urged the government to ensure strong import controls.

Delegates at the brainstorming session last Thursday also recommended making greater use of local veterinary practitioners as the link between government and farmers.

More than 40 stakeholders representing vets, farmers, auction markets and the wider rural community took part in the meeting - the first of five to be held across England to help develop the government's aims and objectives.

David Maughan, NFU county chairman for Durham and North Riding, was at the meeting.

"This is a very important development," he said. "what has gone before has not served us all that well."

Development of the ten-year vision follows recommendations by the Sir Don Curry's policy commission on the Future of Food and Farming.

The strategy is aimed at managing the impact of animal diseases and improving the welfare of animals while protecting the economic and social well-being of people and the environment.

By 2012 the strategy wants to have achieved aims such as consistently high standards of animal health and welfare; better public health; a more informed and effective livestock industry; better use of science in priority areas and vet services which are proactive and joined up with government.

Rob Paul, head of veterinary services for the state veterinary service northern region, was chairman.

"Our aim was not to come to these meetings with elements of the strategy already in place," he said. "If it is to work it must be built from the bottom up.

"Some clear messages came from the session about improving communication between Government agencies and the farming community and making greater use of resources to achieve the strategy."

Mr Paul said delegates felt that an animal health and welfare strategy is needed and it was important to know where the industry is going to be in ten years' time.

"The thing holding this back is profitability. It has to be better," he said.

Mr Paul said education will be a key to raising standards, concentrating on encouragement not enforcement.

"We are looking to get the bottom end of the industry up," he said. "The top end is OK. If at all possible we should be joined as a single agency; one clear channel all the way through with everyone doing their bit.

"What people want is prevention of disease probability and improving the situation for those who have got it."

Mr Paul said import controls were vital.

The next step is to develop an interim strategy taking into account the views of the Northallerton meeting and from those sessions still to be held.

"We also need to produce an outline delivery plan," he said. "That will be a challenge. A final version of how we are going to get there. Then we have ten years to do it."

He said the Northallerton meeting had produced a positive atmosphere.

People had been coming up with ideas to deliver an animal health strategy and what might stop recurring problems.

"We want to keep exotic diseases out, we all agree on that," said Mr Paul.

He said local farmers looked set to be co-operative and forward-thinking, feeling the foot-and-mouth crisis had made many people more aware of problems.

"They are more positive if anything in the wake of the crisis and there is a united view that we must never let that happen again. In a way it was a good exercise," he said.

Mr Maughan said the Curry report had highlighted areas which needed improving and one was animal health and welfare considerations.

Defra was now going forward to form a strategy to serve the industry.

"I think farmers do recognise the need for improvements and the role they can play," said Mr Maughan. "If there is a certain amount of encouragement they will go along with this."

He felt pig and poultry farmers were more security-minded for a number of reasons. Cattle and sheep concerns needed to catch up, he said.

Key conclusions reached at the meeting included:

* the need for better communications to ensure as wide an audience as possible understands the potential risk from disease and why preventive measures are needed;

* the need to prevent disease through import controls and farm checks by local vets;

* the need to improve education in the farming sector;

* the need to reduce bureaucracy by creating a single agency handling all the compliance returns which farmers currently have to make.