Carmarthen's animal health lab has carried out one post mortem a day for the past year, local MP Simon Hart can reveal.

The figure, revealed under the Freedom of Information request, shows that 101 calves and 51 cattle were among the animals tested at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency in the past year.

Mr Hart is concerned that the closure will lead to diseases going unreported and have a negative impact on animal health in west Wales.

"Its closure could result in some farmers being reluctant or unable to transport carcasses over a longer distance and this in turn could create a situation where some diseases may go unrecorded and therefore unnoticed," argued Mr Hart.

He has now met David Davies MP, the chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee which is looking into the matter.

He told Mr Davies: "My fear is that this would lead to farmers not receiving a proper diagnosis for things like a disease causing sheep to abort and this could lead to even greater financial loss for farmers if a condition is left untreated."

The figures show that 359 post mortems were carried out at the Jobs Well Road laboratory in the 12 months to September 2011.

Mr Hart is now pressing for the retention of the laboratories in areas with high cattle density, such as Carmarthenshire.

"This is one of the biggest dairy farming areas in the UK and we must have the resources on hand to meet the industry's needs and deal with any outbreaks of disease that should arise," he added.