'Hugely damaging scale of loss': NFU Cymru urges decisive action on Bovine TB

Fgures show a 37% year-on-year increase in total number of animals slaughtered in Wales due to Bovine TB
Fgures show a 37% year-on-year increase in total number of animals slaughtered in Wales due to Bovine TB

Welsh farming union NFU Cymru has called on the Government to take decisive action to eradicate Bovine TB.

As farmers gather at the Pembrokeshire County Show for the three-day showpiece, the continued impact of Bovine TB on the dairy and beef sector remains a major talking point for many.

The latest official government statistics, released last week, revealed that the number of new herd incidents in Wales has decreased by 17%.

The number of herds under restriction at the end of the 12 months up to the end of May 2016 was down by 11% when comparing year-on-year.

NFU Cymru President Stephen James warns some parts of Wales are struggling to combat the disease
NFU Cymru President Stephen James warns some parts of Wales are struggling to combat the disease

However, the figures also reveal a 37% year-on-year increase in the total number of animals slaughtered in Wales due to Bovine TB.

The local situation in Pembrokeshire is even more alarming, with 2,652 cattle slaughtered in the county in the 12 months up to the end of May 2016.

This is a staggering 61% increase compared to the same 12 month period last year.

Badgers are a major carrier of Bovine TB in UK wildlife
Badgers are a major carrier of Bovine TB in UK wildlife

Hugeley damaging scale of loss

Speaking at the show, NFU Cymru President Stephen James said he "fully appreciates" when looking at a disease as complex as Bovine TB that one should "consider short term statistical changes in the context of long term trends".

He said the statistics show a "hugely damaging scale of loss", emphasising the "totally unsustainable" way of life for the industry in Pembrokeshire.

"Far too many farming families in this area continue to struggle under the enormous emotional and financial strain caused by Bovine TB," Mr James said.

"Cattle farmers here in Pembrokeshire and throughout the rest of Wales are continuing to play their part to help control and eradicate the disease by adhering to stringent cattle movement and testing controls.

"However, these latest figures are a clear illustration that the measures currently in place to eradicate this disease are not working in parts of the country like Pembrokeshire where the disease is also endemic in the wildlife population.

'Disease reservoir in wildlife'

"Cattle measures and biosecurity have a vital role to play in a TB eradication plan.

"However, experience from across the globe and indeed from our neighbours across the border in England and across the Irish Sea, have shown that a TB eradication plan must also include a strategy for dealing with the disease reservoir in wildlife, in areas where it is endemic."

Mr James added that farmers in Wales are "playing their part" in bearing down on the disease, buy the "reservoir of infection" that exists in wildlife still hasn’t been confronted.

"We now look to this new Welsh Government to look again at the current TB strategy.

"If we are to eradicate Bovine TB in Wales then this Government has to support the implementation of a policy that will actively remove the disease from the wildlife population in areas of Wales where both cattle and badgers are suffering," Mr James concluded.