Jack urges rethink on weedkiller ban

A Scottish Government ban on the use of a weedkiller is “absolutely the wrong decision”, Alister Jack said as he urged ministers to reconsider it.

SNP ministers have rejected a request for Asulox to be allowed on farms north of the border, despite the herbicide being used to control bracken for the past decade.

Speaking at the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh on Thursday, Scottish Secretary Mr Jack said: “I think the Scottish Government have made absolutely the wrong decision.

“I think they should think again, and very quickly because once we get into July the businesses that are ready to spray Asulox have to get going.

“It’s very time sensitive.”

Ahead of the show, Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the SNP-Green Government was “acutely aware of the risks associated with uncontrolled bracken and did not take this decision lightly”, but warned the herbicide poses risks to “human, animal and environmental health”.

Mr Jack said it had been approved for use in England on bracken.

He said: “Bracken spreads across upland land, for upland sheep farmers it’s a serious problem.

“As it goes it creates a biodiversity desert, but it also harbours tick and tick is not only bad for animals, but tick is also bad for humans and the potential of lyme disease, which is a terrible disease and one that when you’ve got it you can’t get rid of it.

“So I think the decision is the wrong decision.

“It is being spread on bracken that is, if you like, taking away grazing ground for sheep farmers, it has to be sprayed on hillsides.

“There are other ways of dealing with bracken on level ground, but this is steep hillside where it is not safe to do anything other than spray it, usually from a helicopter. Anything else is a risk to human life to try and put a machine on steep hillside like that.

“Asulox is the answer and I think the Scottish Government should think again.”

Mr Jack also addressed funding concerns, saying farmers can be “fairly confident” that when the three-year settlement is renewed “it won’t go backwards”.

He added: “It’s up to the Scottish Government how they then allocate those funds.

“Agriculture is devolved, as is health, as is education, and it’s up to them how they then divide up the envelope.”