Letter to Baroness Hayman, Minister of
State, MAFF from the British leather Confederation
WITHDRAWAL OF
OP SHEEP DIPS—CONCERN
OF THE
UK TANNING INDUSTRY
I am writing on behalf of the British Leather Confederation
to express our concerns at the recent Government decision to withdraw
organophosphate (OP) sheep dips. The British Leather Confederation
is the trade association for the UK tanning industry and in this
role represents a range of sheep skin processors. Our prime concern
in this matter is to protect the quality of UK domestic skins,
but from a wider perspective we believe that skin quality—in
terms of the level of parasite damage found on skins—is
a helpful indicator of the health and welfare status of the national
flock.
We already have evidence of dramatic increase
(by around 60 per cent from 1991-95) in the number of skins damaged
by parasites, following the progressive relaxation and abolition
of compulsory sheep dipping in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Since then our members have reported that the level of skin damage
has continued to increase. Two major sheep skin tanneries have
closed in the last five years, and in each case the decline in
the quality of raw material was a major contributory factor. Our
overriding concern at present is that the withdrawal of OP dips
could accelerate this decline and make a difficult situation even
worse.
The hide skin and leather sector in the UK regularly
makes a positive contribution to the country's balance of payments
(between £140 million and £200 million over the last
three years in a volatile market) and the sector plays an important
role adding value to a by product of the farming and meat industry.
The value of the skin is influenced by the final use of the leather,
and this in turn is dictated by the original hide and skin quality.
In a volatile market, the annual value of UK sheep skins at the
abattoir over the last three years has been in the range of £45
million to £130 million. Although influenced by market conditions,
the annual loss to the production chain, from farmer to tanner,
currently arising from parasite damage, has been estimated at
£15 million to £20 million.
Previous sheep dipping regimes and practices—based
heavily on OPs—had the effect of controlling not only sheep
scab, but also a wide range of other parasites such as blow fly,
lice, ticks and keds. Some dips were also formulated to control
mycotic dermatitis. Since then levels of parasite damage to skins
have substantially increased, and although we are aware of alternative
treatments, the OP products still have an important part in the
farmer's armoury against parasites for a number of key reasons:
1. they are effective against a wide range
of skin parasites, unlike the alternative products which have
a more limited spectrum of effect. This also means that accurate
veterinary diagnosis is advisable before using any of the alternatives;
2. the OP products can be used prophylactically,
to treat and protect animals, whereas the alternatives are essentially
treatments, with no significant protective effect, thus potentially
allowing early re-infection with, for example, sheep scab;
3. there is more potential for misuse and/or
underdosing with the alternative products, and, we understand,
there are already instances of parasite resistance to a number
of these products;
4. they represent the most economic treatment
from the farmer's point of view;
5. while still representing an environmental
challenge to sheep skin processors, in discharging their effluent,
as well as to farmers, OP compounds are also considerably safer
in environmental terms than the alternative synthetic pyrethroid
dips which are estimated to be up to 100 times more toxic to aquatic
life than the OPs.
While we are aware of certain health and safety
issues regarding the OP products, there are well established procedures
throughout industry for dealing with hazardous materials and we
do not see the OP products as significantly different.
For all the reasons outlined above, we believe
that the OP products still have a vital part to play in the control
of skin parasites on sheep and that they should be allowed back
into circulation as soon as practically possible.
1 February 2000
Raw Materials scar damage found at the
pickle inspection
UK doubleface crust sort fault analysis—skins
showing parasite damage (%), n = 8000/month
Parasitic Damage Stats
UK DOUBLEFACE CRUST SORT FAULT ANALYSIS
| 1995 |
| | |
| Month | No of Skins
| PD | IM |
| July | 8,000 | 386
| |
| August | 8,000 | 535
| |
| September | 8,000 | 775
| |
| October | 8,000 | 736
| 135 |
| November | 8,000 | 1,117
| 221 |
| December | 8,000 | 1,200
| 245 |
| Total | 48,000 | 4,749
| 601 |
| | |
|
| 1996 | | |
|
| Month | No of Skins
| PD | IM |
| July | 8,000 | 435
| |
| August | 8,000 | 461
| |
| September | 8,000 | 841
| |
| October | 8,000 | 825
| 160 |
| November | 8,000 | 1,314
| 299 |
| December | 8,000 | 1,358
| 311 |
| Total | 48,000 | 5,232
| 770 |
| | |
|
| 1997 | | |
|
| Month | No of Skins
| PD | IM |
| July | 8,000 | 433
| |
| August | 8,000 | 620
| |
| September | 8,000 | 995
| |
| October | 8,000 | 934
| 142 |
| November | 8,000 | 1,356
| 187 |
| December | 8,000 | 1,575
| 221 |
| Total | 48,000 | 5,913
| 550 |
| | |
|
| 1998 | | |
|
| Month | No of Skins
| PD | IM |
| July | 8,000 | 458
| |
| August | 8,000 | 562
| |
| September | 8,000 | 841
| |
| October | 8,000 | 1,213
| 175 |
| November | 8,000 | 1,196
| 311 |
| December | 8,000 | 1,734
| 356 |
| Total | 48,000 | 6,002
| 842 |
| | |
|
| 1999 | | |
|
| Month | No of Skins
| PD | IM |
| July | 8,000 | 489
| |
| August | 8,000 | 711
| |
| September | 8,000 | 1,115
| |
| October | 8,000 | 1,058
| 112 |
| November | 8,000 | 1,517
| 98 |
| December | 8,000 | 1,654
| 178 |
| Total | 48,000 | 6,542
| 388 |
PD = Parasitic Damage
IM = Injection Marks
| | |
| | |
|
|
