The National Audit Office (NAO) said in a report that the UK is insufficiently prepared to deal with a severe animal disease outbreak. While the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are perfectly capable of managing small and medium outbreaks, they would struggle to cope with a larger and more severe one. The report also points out significant gaps in DEFRA’s plans for preventing and containing outbreaks. There is, for example, no comprehensive livestock movement tracing system, despite attempts to create one since 2013. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said there is an urgent need for a long-term strategy and action plan to protect the national economy, food security, human health, and rural communities. Tony Goodger, head of communication at the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, praised NAO’s report as “a wake-up call” to both the government and the public to ensure that the country remains safe from animal diseases.
Past animal disease outbreaks in the UK have had a significant economic impact. In 2001, a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak cost the public and private sectors over £13 billion. Recent outbreaks of bird flu have instead resulted in the culling of over 7 million birds between November 2020 and mid-March 2025.
