THE Scottish Executive yesterday published the implementation plan for its animal health and welfare strategy, which aims to raise standards and make farmers more aware of potential problems and risks in the livestock sector.

The plan draws on Scotland's internationally-acknowledged science base and is aimed at strengthening consumer confidence in Scottish produce.

Ross Finnie, the Scottish Executive's environment and rural development minister, gave the document his full endorsement. He said: ''Keeping animals in good health and good condition is important in its own right. It also makes sound business sense - reducing costs associated with disease, improving product quality and enhancing profitability.

''We are determined to improve the links between our excellent science base and the industry so that animal keepers have the most up-to-date knowledge in the field.''

Animal health planning is very much at the heart of the implementation of the strategy, and the executive is pleased that Quality Meat Scotland has recently made this an element of its farm assurance protocols.

Charles Milne, the head of the state veterinary service in Scotland, said: ''Health plan-ning is vital and there are big opportunities. It also ties in with biosecurity. A lot of lip service has been paid to bio-security, but it involves more than a bucket of disinfectant at the end of the farm road.

''It should cover more than that, including replacement livestock policies. It is very frustrating that the three incidences of brucellosis in Scotland this year have come from cattle imported from Ireland. It is the same with tuberculosis where of the 19 cases in Scotland this year 13 have been traced back to cattle coming from high-risk areas. The message clearly has not been getting across that farmers must follow a policy of testing and isolation.''

The precise cause of the 2001 foot-and-mouth epid-emic will probably never be known, but the probability is it was the result of illegally imported contaminated meat. It is admitted that a country such as the UK, which is heavily reliant on global trade, eliminating the importation of illegal meat is difficult.

Last year, a risk assessment was conducted by the govern-ment's Veterinary Laboratories Agency and a security firm. The initial findings indic-ated a low but continuous risk of foot-and-mouth entering the country in this manner.

The final strategy, which is a UK-wide initiative, will be published next spring, but

it is stressed that it will be changed and amended, according to prevailing circumstances, probably on an annual basis.