Regulatory Appraisal
45.The Regulatory Impact Assessment for the FMD provisions concludes that the benefits of introducing additional control measures to tackle any future outbreaks of FMD or other animal diseases, outweigh the costs. Almost all the provisions will only affect farmers and others whose stock are vaccinated, slaughtered or tested for disease control purposes. The Act will not in itself impose any additional costs on farm businesses which are meeting current requirements as it does not introduce any new obligations. The main benefits of the measures would be to allow a more flexible and effective disease control policy, more effective enforcement of existing disease control obligations and the provision of greater transparency of decision making. Quicker containment and eradication of the disease would indirectly benefit all farmers, other sectors of the rural economy and the taxpayer in general.
46.The Regulatory Impact Assessment on the scrapie provisions concludes that the benefits of making genotyping compulsory would outweigh the costs. Costs would arise from producers having to slaughter/castrate any animals found to have unacceptable genotypes. The main benefits would be to consumers who would have reassurance that sheepmeat on sale was only from animals of acceptable genotypes, so minimising any risk they faced from BSE in sheep. Government would also benefit in terms of being able to safeguard human health and the future of the sheep industry and sheep farmers would benefit from the achievement of scrapie-free status for their animals.