Wales’ New Bovine TB Plan Targets High-Risk Areas

A new approach to eradicating bovine TB was announced by the Welsh government yesterday, using tailored measures for Low, Intermediate and High TB areas.

The Welsh Government is consulting on the measures to be applied to protect the Low TB Area and to reduce disease in the Intermediate and High TB Areas, with potential measures to include strengthening of cattle controls.

Under the plans for the programme, chronic breakdown herds would have individual action plans, developed in partnership with farmers, vets and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), aimed at clearing up the infection.

Targeted culls of infected badgers caught in cage-traps, similar to a pilot study in Northern Ireland, were also suggested as an idea to help reduce the levels of disease in the wildlife population. This would be different to the culls implemented in England, where both healthy and infected badgers were shot.

Neil Paton, President of the Welsh branch of the British Veterinary Association, said that evidence-based, viable solutions must be in place to deal with the wildlife reservoir of disease if an England-style cull is not included in the eradication programme.

“The Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) model currently being explored in Northern Ireland had previously been discounted in Wales after modelling suggested it was not a viable option,” he added.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said the approach to badgers was a step in the right direction, but many farmers would be concerned about the splitting up of Wales into a number of TB zones.

According to the NFU, over the past 12 months nearly 9,500 cattle have been slaughtered as a result of this disease, a 38 per cent increase from last year.