The Welsh government is to include a bovine TB herd accreditation in new TB rules, the Cattle Health Certification Standards (CHeCS).
CHeCS is a non-trading organisation established in 1999 by the cattle industry to control and eradicate a number of diseases using a set of standards to which all licensed cattle health schemes must adhere.
These standards ensure that herd health status on one scheme is equivalent to that of all other schemes in the UK and Ireland.
In 2004, only around 1% of UK herds were in a CHeCS scheme. By 2007, this was 4.4% of cattle farmers, and now around 14,000 herds are in some form of monitoring, control and eradication under a CHeCS-accredited scheme.
This represents around 14% of cattle holdings. And currently, about 60% of CHeCS scheme participants are beef herds and 40% are dairy herds.
CHeCS has developed accreditation standards for BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis, Johne’s Disease and Neospora.
The new TB programme will require the herd vet and cattle owner to work together on following a number of biosecurity measures already successfully implemented in the five other cattle disease control programmes.
Every year a herd is engaged in the programme and is free from a TB breakdown, its ‘score’ will improve, up to a maximum of 10, reflecting the lowest level of risk.
'Improved measures'
The inclusion of CHeCS in new TB rules has been welcomed in a presentation to vets and farmers at the Royal Welsh Show.
The address came from Keith Cutler of Endell Veterinary Group, chairman of the Technical Group for Cattle Health Certification Standards (CHeCS).
He said the recognition from both Governments that a scheme promoting cattle biosecurity and herd health has a major role to play in reducing the risk and spread of Bovine TB was a very positive development.
Mr Cutler said: “CHeCS provides a framework for control of a range of diseases through improved health and biosecurity measures, and CHeCS Bovine TB Herd accreditation was added to the standards at the end of 2016.
“Now, in Wales, a waiver for Post Movement Testing has been implemented for cattle coming from herds participating in the CHeCS TB programme and classified as Level 10, presenting the lowest risk of a breakdown or spreading the diseas
“Furthermore, a Defra consultation released in early July proposes less frequent testing for herds who are engaged in the CheCS TB programme and have gained a favourable score,” he added.
