North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has urged the Welsh Government to take decisive action to tackle bovine TB.
Speaking in the Debate on Bovine TB in the Assembly this week, Mr Isherwood, who last week Chaired the briefing on Bovine TB by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) in the Assembly, highlighted that although new herd incidences recorded in Wales to June fell 16 per cent last year, in the equivalent period, the number of cattle slaughtered due to bovine TB rose 43 per cent.
He said:
“As NFU Cymru state in their briefing to us, Bovine TB is one of the biggest threats facing the Welsh cattle industry. They add that the historic failure of the Welsh Government to effectively tackle the disease in wildlife means that it continues to not only impact cattle keepers and their families, but also those further down the supply chain.
“NFU Cymru state that the shelving of the Welsh Government’s vaccination programme due to a global vaccine shortage has created a policy vacuum, and the FUW president would like to remind all Assembly Members of how critical it is that Welsh Government implements a strategy that effectively tackles bovine TB in both cattle and wildlife, without which, they say, it’s hard to see how we can secure trade deals with European nations after Brexit.
“The BVA states control measures in cattle must occur alongside simultaneous and coordinated measures in badgers, other wildlife and susceptible farm species. They believe that slaughtering cattle that test positive for Bovine TB is essential to control the disease in cattle, but has not been enough to get on top of the disease. Therefore they also believe that badger culling in a targeted, effective and humane manner is necessary in carefully selected areas.
“We were reminded at the BVA briefing that the randomised badger culling trial 1998 to 2006 did find that proactive culling of badgers reduces the incidence of bovine TB in cattle herds. The BVA support badger culling as part of a comprehensive strategy, provided it’s targeted, effective and humane. Although they’ve withdrawn support for the use of controlled shooting, they’ve called for the wider roll-out of culling, using cage-trapping and shooting only in carefully selected areas.
“So, the Welsh Government must take decisive action to tackle Bovine TB, working with the British Veterinary Association to deliver the comprehensive and scientific bovine TB strategy that they are calling for”.