23 June 2011

Due to government cut-backs, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) regional laboratories are under threat of closure and Defra is currently considering possible sites to axe. Among them could be the laboratory at Polwhele, Truro, which is a vital resource both for the Cornish farming community and for those monitoring the health of wildlife in the county. Cornwall Wildlife Trust and its partners are urging Defra to ensure that the laboratory at Polwhele is spared from the cuts.

Ruth Williams, Marine Conservation Manager for the Trust says, "The AHVLA at Polwhele is unique in that, as well as its work with farm animals, it carries out monitoring and research into diseases that affect marine animals. This research is absolutely vital in helping us to understand marine wildlife. It also tells us a huge amount about the general health of our seas."

"That's so important, not just for the dolphins and seals we study, but also for us since some of the diseases that affect marine mammals can also affect humans."

Jan Loveridge, Co-ordinator of the Trust's Marine Strandings Network adds, "We're very concerned about the possible closure. The AHVLA carries out post-mortem examinations on stranded dolphins and seals from Cornwall which is a strandings hotspot, getting about 20-25% of all the stranded cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in the UK every year."

The AHVLA were at the forefront of identifying lesions caused by accidental entanglement in fishing nets when this was first observed in the 1990s, and were involved in the examination of many of the 26 dolphins that died in the mass stranding event in the Fal in 2008. Without the experienced vets and lab close by, there may have been a delay in examining the dolphins while waiting for a team of pathologists to arrive from London. By this time the dolphins would have been more decomposed, which might have affected vital clues as to what had caused their deaths.

Jan continues, "The AHVLA vets have found diseases not previously known to science and are in the frontline of identifying any emerging threats to the local animal population. For instance, without them an epidemic could wipe out our dwindling local group of bottlenose dolphins and we wouldn't see it coming."

Currently the Trust's Marine Strandings Network team retrieve stranded dolphins and take them to Polwhele for examination. However, if this branch closes the team would be unable to transport them up-country. This would mean that important information which is used to protect our dolphins could be lost.

The government is obliged under international law to monitor the health of certain key species such as harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins. This raises certain questions: how do they expect to monitor these species if they close one of the most experienced labs in this field? And how will they know if bycatch, pollutant burdens in dolphins or disease is increasing or decreasing?

Cornwall Wildlife Trust feels that we cannot afford to lose this important resource and, with it, the expertise and skills of the pathologists who work at the AHVLA.

Ruth says, "Thanks to them we have a wealth of knowledge from over 500 post mortem examinations and numerous findings in the field of microbiology. We sincerely hope that Defra will listen to our concerns and those of local farmers, and recognise the distinct service that the AHVLA Polwhele provides and not close it down."

We urge members of the public to voice their concerns by writing to Defra at the address below:

Catherine Brown,
Appointed Chief Executive Officer
Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency
Block C, Government Buildings
Whittington Road
Worcester
WR5 2LQ 

Thank you for your support.