TB 'spiralling out of control' (From Western Telegraph)

TB 'spiralling out of control'

West Wales has the highest number of cattle herds affected by bovine TB than any other region of Wales, raising fears that the disease is spiralling out of control.

Over 8% of cattle herds in the old Dyfed area - Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion - are under restriction because they have tested positive for TB.

NFU Cymru now wants the Welsh Assembly to set up intensive treatment and research areas as soon as possible.

This, says St Clears dairy farmer Dai Davies, must be done to tackle the issue of TB in both livestock and wildlife.

The figures, calculated using data from the TB Data Warehouse, show that the average number of farms in Wales with cattle herds under restriction between January and May 2005 was 841, which is 5.5%. With 8.5%, west Wales is much higher than the Welsh average.

NFU Cymru vice-president Dai Davies, who has had TB in his herd, said that he welcomed the Assembly decision to set up a helpline for farmers affected by TB, but saw this as 'a sad reflection' that TB was the most important problem affecting cattle in Wales.

"This is a horrific disease and we must find solutions to contain and eradicate it and stop the emergence of new TB hotspots in Wales,'' he said.

"We appreciate the work done by the Welsh Assembly Government on this issue and in particular Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey AM, who chairs theTB Action Group."

It cost the UK £60 million to test cattle and compensate farmers last year. The number of cases is rising by 18% a year, with more than 22,000 infected cattle culled last year, A study, released in June, found that bovine TB was hitting many farmers harder than they were by the foot and mouth epidemic.