9:20am Sunday 5th October 2008
The frustration felt by Pembrokeshire farmers over the lack of progress on an action plan for eradicating bovine TB in their cattle herds appears to have bounced the Welsh Assembly into action.
A report published in this month’s Pembrokeshire Farmer details the disappointment felt by the county’s farmers that a plan agreed last April had yet to be kick-started.
But just days after these concerns were put to the office of the rural affairs minister Elin Jones, it was announced that a comprehensive one-off test of all herds across Wales would be launched this week.
Referred to as ‘TB Health Check Wales’, the testing will start today (Wednesday) and see 3,500 additional herds being tested in the 15 months leading to the end of 2009. “In effect this means that in 15 months we will be testing herds that would have normally taken four years to test,” said Elin Jones.
“To date, Wales is the only area of Great Britain that has taken this decisive action, part of a meticulous, step-by-step campaign constructed in Wales to remove this damaging and costly disease.”
Other progress made includes the establishment of regional TB eradication delivery boards which met for the first time last Wednesday and whose members include vets, representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council’s animal health department, auctioneers and farming industry representatives.
A decision will be made on the location of an intensive action pilot area in the new year, said Elin Jones.
In the six months to May, 4,600 cattle were slaughtered in Wales compared to 3,200 in the same period last year. Between April and last month, expenditure on TB compensation was more than £10m, compared with £6.3m in the same period last year, an increase of 59%.
o The latest issue of Pembrokeshire Farmer is available now.
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