NFU to step up pressure on tb

NFU President Peter Kendall vowed to step up the pressure for a cull of TB-infected badgers, after what he described as a deeply disappointing meeting with Defra Secretary of State, David Miliband, on the subject in London today (Tuesday).

Mr Miliband told Mr Kendall plans for a targeted cull of diseased badgers had been put on hold until at least late autumn, whilst Defra vets investigated the cause of an apparent decline in the number of new cases of TB in cattle.

But Mr Kendall said that he felt the Secretary of State was using the figures as a pretext for further foot-dragging, and said he planned to call an urgent meeting of farming and veterinary stakeholders to step up the pressure for action.

He said: “We have waited long enough for the Government to summon the courage to deal with the root cause of the TB disaster, and I not prepared to take either no, or wait, for an answer.

“Whatever the extent of the decline in new cases of disease and whatever the cause of it, the fact remains that in the first five months of this year, almost 2,000 farms suffered a TB breakdown and over 13,000 cattle were slaughtered.

“Those figures demand action. They do not excuse inaction.

“I intend to convene a meeting of industry stakeholders at the earliest opportunity to put together a strategy for tackling the wildlife reservoir of disease and to agree a programme of action to step up the political pressure.

“I have also warned the Secretary of State that it will be incredibly difficult to persuade farmers to engage in his proposed partnership strategy for animal health and welfare for as long as he refuses to lance the boil of bovine tuberculosis.”