There has been widespread coverage across trade media outlets of the announcement of the Government’s new Bovine Tuberculosis eradication strategy refresh.
Over the past decade, TB has had a devastating impact on British livestock and wildlife. Over 278,000 cattle have been compulsorily slaughtered and over 230,000 badgers have been killed in efforts to control the disease.
The measures to be introduced under the strategy include a survey of the badger population for the first time in a decade, a wildlife surveillance programme, the launch of a Badger Vaccinator Field Force and a badger vaccination study to end the cull by the end of this parliament.
The Government has also stated that it aims to bring the badger cull to an end within this Parliament and the strategy will be an important part of the effort to eliminate bovine TB by 2038.
This announcement ensures the government meets its manifesto commitment and represents a new direction in defeating this disease that will both protect the farming community and preserve wildlife.
Publications such as The Times, The Guardian, BBC, I News, ITV News, Sky News, Daily Mail and Farmers Guardian covered the news.
Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner said:
Bovine tuberculosis has devastated British farmers and wildlife for far too long.
It has placed dreadful hardship and stress on farmers who continue to suffer the loss of valued herds and has taken a terrible toll on our badger populations.
No more. Our comprehensive TB eradication package will allow us to end the badger cull by the end of this parliament and stop the spread of this horrific disease.
Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:
Bovine tuberculosis is one of the most difficult and prolonged animal disease challenges we face, causing devastation for farming communities.
There is no single way to combat it, and a refreshed strategy will continue to be led by the very best scientific and epidemiological evidence. With the disease on a downward trajectory, we are at a crucial point. Working in collaboration with government and stakeholders will be the only way we achieve our target to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in England by 2038.
John Cross, chair of the bTB Partnership said:
As chair of the bTB Partnership for England, I am delighted to hear Minister Zeichner’s intention to refresh the current bTB strategy. Ten years after its launch, the time is right to look again at the tools we use to tackle this persistent disease.
Bovine TB is the common enemy, not farmers or wildlife groups. Only by working together, will we reach our goal.
Following the recent consultation, the government will also publish additional information about animal and herd-level bTB risk – for example, the date and type of the most recent TB test completed in the herd of origin of that animal and how long the animal has been in the herd.
This greater level of detail will be made available on ibTB – a free to access interactive map set up to help cattle farmers and their vets understand the level of bovine TB in their area and manage the risks when purchasing cattle.
Today’s announcement ensures the government meets its manifesto commitment and represents a new direction in defeating this disease that will both protect the farming community and preserve wildlife.
7 comments
Comment by Patricia Hall posted on
The badger culls have been proven to be unscientific, unworkable, ineffective, inhumane and extremely costly to the taxpayer. To keep on doing the same thing and expecting a different result is madness. Labour has always given the impression they would end the culls but have mislead the general public into believing they meant immediately, not in five years time. It is a disgrace and the govt should look again at how many people signed the Governments Petition to end it. Labours Steve Reed (DEFRA) gave an enthusiatic manifesto pledge pre--election to bring about huge reforms in animal welfare and - after the election - not a peep. Just about as 'enthusiastic' as Therese Coffey!
Comment by Rosemary Rayner posted on
When can PCR tests on faeces be introduced more widely, for assessing cattle for bovine TB?
The badgers are probably catching TB from cattle, not vice versa!
Comment by Guda van der Burgt posted on
A government commissioned bit of research in a Northern Ireland hotspot using genomic testing and published in 2023 concluded exactly that: Cattle to badger transmission was much more common that badger to cattle transmission, and badger to badger transmission was negligible. The vast majority of cattle infections originate from other cattle
Comment by Anthony Johnson posted on
Too little and to late!
Comment by Michael Hughes posted on
Manifesto promise met? Nonsense. This is a broken promise. Thousands of environmentalists are angry, disappointed. They believed Labour when they said again and again they would end culling. Instead we get up to five more years of futile slaughter. Labour repeatedly described it as ineffective (so did Natural England's chief scientist). Sadly this "new plan" contains no substantive new measures. It's basically the same policy dressed up to masquerade as something new. Emphasis on badger vaccination once again grossly exaggerates any minor role the badger plays. The absurdity of the unreliable skin test, which for decades has missed thousands of infected cattle, continues. Cattle spend up to six months overwintering packed together. In the open badgers and cattle rarely if ever meet, certainly not nose to nose. So that surely rules out badger-to-cattle infection by the respiratory route. Brian May's research team also put the spotlight on contaminated slurry spread, again surely much more of a threat than badger urine or faecal droppings?
Under the Tories Defra promised an end to culling. Instead, they increased it. In five years time will Labour also find an excuse for yet more culling? Bovine TB is a devastating disease. Sadly this "new plan" does farmers no favours for as i say in practice it changes nothing of consequence.
Comment by John w. Baxter posted on
To use scientific evidence as an opening statement implies that science has not been applied or evidenced in the past.
After seeing Brian May, a man with a scientific doctorate analytical background I was surprised to note all the criticism surrounding his programme which I felt should have been challenged in places by DEFRA, had DEFRA had any evidence to challenge it with.
I was amazed to see that the testing regime for TB in cattle has not changed over many years and felt the blood testing , which could easily be carried out by stockmen and tested as it is currently is a move in the right direction. And how well do our neighbours control TB?…….and in venison….is there TB ?.
Comment by Maureen Hutchison posted on
There does not appear to be any acknowledgement of the fact that the tests in current use are only picking up 33% of cases ( aswell as many false +ves).Why is the PCR not being introduced as a replacement or at least backup? This is usual for virtually all infectious diseases and where a +ve test results in slaughter of cattle or even whole herds it is incomprehensible why it is not being used