A farmer has been sentenced for breaching bovine TB testing rules in North Yorkshire.
Farmer Paul Parvin was found guilty at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court on Monday (23 October) of failing to have his cattle tested for bovine tuberculosis (TB), following an investigation by North Yorkshire County Council’s Trading Standards
The case was heard in Mr Parvin’s absence. He was fined £660.
The trading standards investigation followed a referral from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) as Mr Parvin, of Sessay, had not complied with a requirement to conduct a routine herd test on his cattle for bovine TB, constituting a breach of disease control legislation.
Routine herd tests form part of the government’s bovine TB eradication programme. Bovine TB is estimated to have cost the taxpayer £500 million in the last ten years.
County Councillor Andrew Lee, Executive Member for Trading Standards, said: “This conviction demonstrates the importance the County Council gives to its role in protecting both public health and the livestock industry from the potential spread of tuberculosis.
“The County Council will continue to work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to safeguard the farming industry in North Yorkshire.”
Dr Leonardo Benito-de-Valle, Veterinary Adviser for Field Delivery with APHA, said: “By his actions, Mr Parvin has seriously undermined those central policies which are aimed at protecting the cattle population and the farming industry in areas such as North Yorkshire that is currently a low-incidence area for bovine TB.”
