news

Help is at hand for English farmers in the fight against bovine tuberculosis

Posted: 10 October 2017 | | 1 comment

Defra has announced it is funding an advisory scheme aimed at helping farmers avoid bovine tuberculosis in the most challenged regions of the country.

bovine tuberculosis

BLIGHT: England has the highest incidence of bovine TB in Europe

England has the highest incidence of bovine tuberculosis in Europe. Last year, more than 29,000 cattle had to be slaughtered in the country to control the disease.

Estimates put its cost to the British taxpayer at more than £100 million.

In a bid to ease this economic burden, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched the TB Advisory Service.

The service, announced at the Dairy Show in Shepton Mallett, Somerset, last week, will give farmers in High Risk and Edge Areas on-farm, phone or email advice from trained consultants. Edge Areas are defined as those between High Risk and Low Risk.

It is delivered by veterinary partnership the Origin Group and, over the next three years aims to offer 2,400 farm visits in the South West and West Midland, where bovine tuberculosis is most prevalent.

The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Nigel Gibbens, welcomed the launch.

He said: “Bovine tuberculosis is one of the greatest health threats in the UK and has a devastating impact on our farmers.

“As part of our comprehensive long-term plan to eradicate the disease, I am delighted to announce that farmers will be able to access even more help and support via the new bTB Advisory Service.

“Alongside the existing TB Hub, the bTB Advisory Service will help arm our farmers with the knowledge they need to prevent this devastating disease spreading – a vital weapon in our fight to protect the UK’s herds and our farmers’ futures.”

The announcement of the bovine tuberculosis service was announced last month to coincide with the relaunch of the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme.

Consultants involved in the service will offer advice based on the biosecurity five-point plan. This plan includes reducing contact between badgers and cattle, managing cattle feed and water, and stopping infected cattle entering the herd.

To register an interest in the service, farmers can call 01306 779410 or email [email protected]

One response to “Help is at hand for English farmers in the fight against bovine tuberculosis”

  1. james o riordan says:

    my comments are only to farmers that are in this cattle tb lock up situation year in year out in both gb and ireland for generations and gathering momentum and bare faced lies from defra and certain vets
    my first question surely there are a few honest vets out there ;; and i could provide thousands of them with tons of testing provided they can produce a C V with a fairly reasonable record of their testing results on cattle farms over the past year 2017 .. in the event of no replies” as cattle farmers we would also accept replies from graduates to undertake this responsible situation and providing large practices free with no cost involved in purchasing a practice to carry out this t b testing ,, we have the farmers names all you need are the needles email [email protected] or 0872133731

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.