TB Consultation is a Major Step Forward say NFU
The NFU, which has long lobbied for action to combat the disease as it threatens the future of so many farming families in the beef and dairy sector and costs taxpayers upwards of £84million, said it looks forward to contributing to the consultation.
NFU President Peter Kendall said: “When it came to power this coalition government said it was committed to look at ways of tackling bovine TB in the hotspot areas of England where the levels of the disease are high and persistent. Today’s announcement sets out the government’s clear commitment to tackling this difficult issue. This is a significant day for thousands of cattle farmers.
“Bovine TB is out of control. The NFU has always said that in order to effectively tackle the spread of bTB we need to address the disease in both cattle and wildlife but it’s important to be clear; this is not about eradicating badgers, this is about disease control.
“Many farmers live with the reality of bTB day in day out. The disease not only has a huge impact on farming businesses through movement restrictions and the slaughter of cattle, it also has an enormous emotional impact on farming families as they work to keep up with this terrible cycle of infection and re-infection.
“Currently we test and cull the cattle that react to the TB test, but we do nothing to control the disease in badgers, the major source of TB in the countryside, so we end up in a vicious cycle of testing and slaughtering our cattle, then more cattle become infected from the reservoir of disease in badgers, so we test and kill even more cows from the herd. This has to stop.
“I understand there will be individuals and groups who will be opposed to these proposals but I firmly believe that it is in everyone’s interest that we seek to control the spread of bTB. Our common purpose is to have healthy cattle and healthy badgers.
“With this end game in mind the NFU supports the ongoing research on vaccines to control TB in both badgers and cattle but the hard truth is we don’t yet have a vaccine ready and able to control this disease on the ground. We need to see the development of an oral bait vaccine for badgers and we support continued trials in this area. However there are significant challenges to overcome before we have a licensed vaccine available for cattle, some say it’s ten years away, and we simply cannot afford to wait for these developments while the future of the nation’s beef and dairy sectors hang in the balance.
“Today’s announcement is the first real step on the long road ahead to securing both healthy cattle and a healthy wildlife population. Our ultimate aim must be the eradication of this pernicious disease.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
