'Fish burial is perfectly safe'.Byline: Patrick Dewhurst THE STATE Veterinary Service The State Veterinary Service(SVS) is an executive agency of the UK government department the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It is the government's delivery agent responsible for animal health and welfare in England, Scotland and Wales. was yesterday forced to defend itself from allegations that it had buried fish illegally next to Nicosia's Athalassa park. In a press release yesterday, the Cyprus Greens slammed authorities' handling of fish in Athalassa Park lake that died after the weekend's storms. George Perdikis, Green Party deputy, lambasted the Nicosia Municipality's decision to bury half a tonne of fish next to the lake. "It is completely illegal -- and may even be dangerous. When this happened at Yermasogia lake in 2008, the Fisheries fisheries. From earliest times and in practically all countries, fisheries have been of industrial and commercial importance. In the large N Atlantic fishing grounds off Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, European and North American fishing fleets have long Department agreed that burial was illegal." Yesterday's press release from the Green Party also stated that the burial was illegal under EU law. "The burying of dead fish is unlawful because under Regulation 1774 of the European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community , animal waste management must follow a legal procedure." When contacted for its response, Veterinary Services said the Green Party's press release was based on incorrect information. The second paragraph Regulation 1774 states that the directive does not apply to animals not suspected of containing diseases. A senior spokesperson for the Services said, "They were collected and safely disposed of on the spot. Based on Regulation 1774, Chapter 1, Article 1, wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. are not included in the regulation." The press release also expressed the Green Party's concern over lack of communication between the Forestry Department, Aglandjia Municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests. , Fisheries, and Forestry Departments. Local residents can, however, rest assured that that this will not cause any environmental harm. Asked whether the buried fish would harm the environment, Perdikis replied, "Probably not." Copyright Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail is a Cypriot English-language newspaper. It is published daily (except Mondays) and a number of articles are available online. Its current chief editor is Kosta Pavlowitch. The managing director is Kyriakos Iacovides. 2009 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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