Alyn Smith the SNP MEP has warmly welcomed the European Commission's decision to temporarily suspend imports of dangerous horse meat from Mexico.

 

Horses bought in the US and sold for horse meat in Mexico and Canada are routinely injected with drugs banned in the EU for use in food animals, such as phenylbutazone and butorphanol. The latest audits carried out by the Commission confirmed serious shortcomings in the capacity of Mexican authorities to carry out reliable checks for these drugs and shows that many corrective actions committed to by Mexico were not taken.

The suspension results in a ban on the import of horse meat, meat preparations and meat products from Mexico.

Mr Smith said: "I've been campaigning against dangerous imported horse meat for more than a year now, and can tell you that the regulatory regime covering horse meat entering Europe from non-EU countries is poorly enforced and sometimes riddled with fraud. Stolen horses from the US are sold by auction in Mexico or Canada with no lifetime veterinary record and unreliable Equine Information Documents.

"Despite caution on chicken imports, despite caution on pig imports, despite all of the concern about the risks of adulterated meat, we still find ourselves in a position where horse meat being imported into the EU is not subject to proper checks for these dangerous drugs."

Farmers reminded of beef scheme deadline

Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead is reminding farmers that the 2014 Scottish Beef Scheme (SBS) closes for applications on December 31.

This is the last year of the SBS, which is currently worth £23m a year, and producers should claim before the end of the year for animals born before December 2. Farmers must register and claim for their eligible cattle before this date to ensure that they will receive their payment around April 2015.

Any animal born on or after December 2 2014 can only be claimed under the new 2015 beef scheme with payment due in 2016.

Market round-up

The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart sold 8005 prime lambs in Longtown on Thursday to a top of £120 per head and 257p per kg to average 185.3p (-16.1p on the week).

The firm also had 4529 cast sheep forward when heavy ewes sold to £178 for Texels and averaged £92.77 (+£9.06), while light ewes peaked at £84 for Blackfaces and levelled at £59 (+£5.61). Rams sold to £155 for a Texel and averaged £104.45 (+£22.03).