An alarm has sounded on how global warming could impact European livestock. Speaking to members of the Society for General Microbiology (SGM) recently, Professor Peter Mertens from the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) in the UK cautioned that ruminants have been dealt major blows within the last decade, triggered by the rising temperatures on Earth.
More than two million ruminants, especially sheep, have fallen victim to outbreaks of bluetongue (BT) in Europe since 1998 and experts believe the rising temperatures are responsible for this problem.
There are many aspects of Rural Development Programme that reflect the EU priority placed on climate change, such as Axis 2: Improving the countryside and the environment and Axis 3: Quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy. It is intended, for example, that actions under Axis 3 aimed at stimulating adoption of new renewable energy technologies at community level, coupled with initiatives to promote public awareness of the benefit of such technologies will directly contribute to achieving the goals of the National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) 2000.
References:
- EU Research Information Centre: Livestock face climate change quagmire
- Irish Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 [PDF]