Farmers on alert after bovine TB outbreak

AN outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in the region has led to renewed calls for vigilance.
A farm near Witton-le-Wear and a site in Eskdale have been listed as affected by TB as of this month. The Appleby area of Cumbria has also been hit. It is the first time the disease has broken into the North East since 2013.
Cases of bovine TB were confined to the south west and west of England in 2013.
But the number of recorded instances of the disease in England and Wales has risen from 220 active cases in 2015 to 1,862 as of May this year.
Farmer Richard Betton, who works as farms liaison officer for Utass, (Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services) has urged farmers to take care.
He said: “Sometimes with diseases it’s too late when it crops up. The message I would give to farmers in the parishes not affected by more stringent movement is to be very careful when they buy breeding stock and look at the full history and passport.
“The main reason for the spread of TB is mainly through cattle movement and it getting into the wildlife.”
Bovine TB can have a devastating impact on livelihoods with compulsory slaughter of livestock often the result of infections.  Farmed deer, goats, llamas and alpacas can also be affected.
Mr Betton explained how the failure to wipe out bovine TB in the 1990s had sewen the seeds of modern day outbreaks.
He added: “We have a Government which is allowing the reduction of badgers infected with TB which offers us a chance of getting ahead of the disease. But it does mean farmers have to be careful.”
Culls of badgers have been in force in the south west of England since 2013 and were extended to Wales in March.
Culling is part of the government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate the disease, but opponents say there is no evidence the practice is effective.
New control measures were brought in by the government in April to tackle TB including more stringent blood tests in cattle.
However, these tests mainly affect areas further south with higher instances of the disease. Mr Betton added: “Any farmer who is knowingly trading while infected is severely affecting all the other farmers in that parish.
“Farmers need to be aware of that and maybe think twice before they purchase something before doing the necessary checks.”
A spokesperson for the Animal and Plant Health Agency said it could not comment on individual cases but he encouraged people to keep abreast of any outbreaks on the agency’s online map at http://www.ibtb.co.uk/