Bovine TB is on the rise in Cornwall, as badger culls get underway in the Duchy. Latest figures from the government show there were more than a dozen new cases in the last year. That is despite a drop in other areas.
Chris Cardell who has cattle at Probus speaks for the NFU. He said: “Herds here in Cornwall have lost some very large numbers at once. Some people lose odd ones, twos and single figure numbers but there have been a few cases in the country where they’ve lost some quite large numbers all in one go. That’s a massive impact then when you lose large numbers all at one go.
“At this present time there are no vaccines that are tested and can be used on the cattle. The powers that be tell us it could be many more years before we get to that point so that’s not an option. Just sitting back and hoping it will go away in the meantime’s not an option. We just have to move forward with whatever tools we’ve got in the box really.”
Campaigners say shooting badgers will not do anything.
Stithians farmer Paul Gluyas has had to send cattle to slaughter in the past and now has to undergo regular checks. Paul said: “The whole scenario for the last twenty-five years is nothing short of an utter disgrace. It really is a disgrace to this country and our government because in the fifties, sixties and seventies, bovine TB was virtually eradicated.
“It’s all been done before. It’s so frustrating that something that was a total success has just been left to explode like it has. Anyhow, that’s where we are now and we’ve got to get it right again.”
The recently announced cull is one of a string of measures outlined to try to tackle bovine TB. They include:
- Seven additional licences for badger control measures covering parts of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, with operations now underway.
- A consultation on introducing further cattle measures including more sensitive tests for TB-affected herds in the High Risk Area, and increased surveillance testing for herds in the Edge Area.
- A call for views on a more risk-based approach to TB testing of cattle herds in the High Risk Area.
- New farm advice packs to help farmers affected by bovine TB to improve the effectiveness of biosecurity measures on their farm.
- An updated online tool mapping the location of bovine TB incidents over the last five years to allow farmers to make informed decisions when buying livestock.
- A consultation on introducing further measures for controlling TB in non-bovine animals.
Some campaigners have called the culls cruel and ineffective. Chris Pitt, Deputy Director of Campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “It is ludicrous that given all the evidence collated over the last four years, the Government plan to roll out their misguided badger cull even further.
Killing badgers is not only disastrous for badgers, but it’s also calamitous for cattle and a dead end for farmers, because all the unbiased scientific opinion suggests that we’ll never get rid of bovine TB this way.
“Instead of shooting badgers we need to be looking to Wales as an example, where no culling takes place, but instead rigorous TB testing, strict cattle movement control and tight bio-security has been more successful in preventing the spread of TB in cattle.
Andrea Leadsom needs to do the right thing and put an end to this inhumane, unscientific and ineffective policy once and for all so we can get rid of this terrible disease the right way.”
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8:31am 22nd September 2016
References
- ^ Badger Culls Coming To Cornwall (www.piratefm.co.uk)