Plans which could potentially penalise Welsh cattle keepers who 'fail to take notice' of TB information when purchasing livestock are being strongly opposed.
The Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) has criticised the proposal as part of its response to the latest Welsh government Refreshed TB Eradication Programme consultation.
The 12-week consultation on the programme launched in November 2021, setting out the Welsh government's long term vision for the eradication of bovine TB in Wales.
It includes new plans for the TB testing programme to help reduce the risk of the spread of TB, such as testing protocols in relation to the pre-movement test.
Proposals also look at informed purchasing and its aim to encourage farmers to provide TB information about cattle they wish to sell and for keepers to make better purchasing decisions.
Risk-based trading proposals contained within it could mean that there are 'implications' for cattle keepers that make purchases regardless of 'highlighted risks' in the TB information provided at point of sale.
Although the consultation contains proposals for mandatory TB information at point of sale, the FUW said it remained unclear what criteria would be used to determine the relative risk of stock.
Dr Hazel Wright, FUW senior policy officer, urged caution on this issue: "Poorly developed risk-based trading proposals can make it extremely difficult for purchasers to make informed judgements when buying stock.”
In its consultation response, the union called on government to establish a 'Risk Based Trading Group' in order to ensure that the information provided at point of sale "is not too crude to be useful or too complex to be usable".
“Whilst the FUW does not oppose risk-based trading per se, any moves to effectively penalise certain types of purchases will inevitably make some Welsh cattle unsaleable," Dr Wright said.
"The FUW would query whether the Welsh government would be willing to compensate those cattle keepers that have received a government endorsed ‘black mark’ against their stock."
She added: “It is essential that the industry is able to fully participate in Risk Based Trading discussions prior to the implementation of proposals, which could have significant consequences for both sellers and buyers of cattle.”
