Bovine TB in cattle – have your say

NFU meeting at arkholme village hall in lancaster

Over the last year, the Government has introduced a number of TB control measures which have caused North West cattle farmers a great deal of concern.

Control measures within the wildlife population are still under review. However, this has not stopped Defra introducing unfair standardised values for compensating farmers who lose stock to TB and pre-movement testing animals which move from one and two year testing herds.

Defra will be reviewing the existing policy during the coming months and the NFU will have the opportunity to contribute.

NFU North West's senior policy adviser, Adam Briggs, said: "We have organised a meeting which will allow farmers to discuss the current rules and tell us what they would like to see moving forward.

"This meeting gives farmers the opportunity to influence the approach the Government will take in tackling the disease. We would urge all interested farmers to attend."

The meeting will take place in Arkholme Village Hall in Lancaster on Tuesday 5 September at 7.30pm.

From March next year pre-movement testing will extend to all cattle moving from one and two year herds which are over 42 days (six weeks) old rather than the current 15 months. Clearly this could have a significant impact on the livestock, veterinary and associated industries.

NFU Deputy President, Meurig Raymond, will be at the meeting to discuss wildlife controls, compensation values and the issue of pre-movement testing. An update on all other relevant issues, such as the Single Payment Scheme and beef exports, will also be provided.