FUW Welcomes Wag TB Proposals

THE Farmers' Union of Wales has welcomed plans unveiled by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to take a proactive approach to controlling bovine TB in Wales.

The plans include a range of measures including the establishment of a pilot area to remove badgers. Around 8,000 cattle were killed in Wales last year as a result of the disease, compared with just a handful of cases twenty years ago.

"The suffering that this disease causes for all concerned - particularly badgers - means that this movement towards a holistic approach is long overdue and should be welcomed," said FUW vice president Brian Walters, a Carmarthen organic dairy farmer who recently lost 14 cattle to bTB

"Despite the misleading reports surrounding previous badger culling trials, the approach has been shown to massively reduce incidences of bTB, even when culling methods were relatively inefficient."

The announcement follows the publication earlier this year of the Assembly's rural development sub committee report of an inquiry by AMs into bTB in Wales which recommended a £27m, three-year drive to eradicate the disease.

The sub-committee called for trial culls in a clearly defined pilot area as part of a broad push against bTB, including annual testing of cattle, increased biosecurity and continued cull of reactors.

"The approach declared by the Minister in no way threatens the badger's survival in Wales, and will ultimately help reduce the terrible suffering that the disease causes for these animals," said Mr Walters.

"Those who claim we are talking about eradicating badgers are attempting to mislead the general public for other reasons - badgers are now one of our most common mammals, which is part of the problem."

A study of bTB infection in Welsh wildlife undertaken by the Welsh Assembly Government in 2006 found that around 13% of badgers found dead in Wales were infected with bTB - with estimates of prevalence in some areas as high as 25%.

By comparison, the proportion of cattle that tested positive for bTB in 2007 was around 0.6% - 20 times lower than the estimate for badgers.

In February 2008 an independent report published in the Royal Society's journal concluded that cattle movements are likely to be responsible for just 16 per cent of bTB herd outbreaks, while "high risk spread is probably the result of cattle and badger interaction".

"It is now critical that these measures are rolled out as soon as possible, since every day that goes past without holistic action being results in further increases in disease incidences."

NOTE TO EDITORS: Brian Walters is available for interview on 07717005764.

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