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Developing Countries

Volume 456: debated on Tuesday 6 February 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has any role in animal (a) health and (b) welfare in developing countries. (118212)

In recent years DFID has supported a range of livestock initiatives, recognising that disease and poor animal welfare threaten the potentially important role that productive use of livestock can play in poverty reduction. Guided by our 2005 agriculture policy paper “Growth and poverty reduction: the role of agriculture”, DFID's efforts include improving veterinary service delivery, developing vaccines, and ensuring that international livestock trading standards—including for health and welfare—are fair. DFID provides annual funding to support the work of others, including the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. DFID, working with other international agencies and affected developing countries, also provided £30 million over the past two years specifically to support global efforts to control avian influenza.