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The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) has welcomed the Windsor Framework as a positive step forward as it recognises the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological area for animal disease.
The Windsor Framework is part of the new Northern Ireland protocol deal which has paved the way for new trading arrangements between GB and NI through a new UK internal market system whilst still requiring full EU process for third country goods moving into Ireland.
However, the new deal does not specifically mention veterinary medicines which is a concern to the animal health sector.
The extension of current arrangements until 2025, announced by the European Commission in December 2022, continues to alleviate problems in the short term, supporting the health and welfare of NI farm livestock and pets.
However, in the longer term, with no change to the protocol for veterinary medicines, approximately 50% of the current veterinary medicines will not be available on the NI market.
Dawn Howard, NOAH chief executive, said: “We are pleased to see that this has been recognised by the UK Government in the Framework paper which states that, as things stand, more than half of product lines remain at risk.
“We thank NOAH members for their diligent work in providing this evidence, and welcome the Government’s recognition that the only practical solution will be the development of a long term solution, as with human medicines, to guarantee the existing and long-established flows of trade between GB and NI for our sector.”
She added: “We look forward to working with them and their EU colleagues in finding a solution that works for veterinary medicines, in the tremendous spirit of co-operation demonstrated by the publication of the Framework.”
