South-west livestock farmers are questioning why TB is
not being made the priority when it comes to allocating £12.7m of
funds aimed at improving animal health and
productivity.
The funding, through the
Rural Development Fund, is earmarked for projects to improve
productivity, performance and value related to animal health, and
could boost livestock producers' profitability by 25%.
But at a meeting of stakeholders, including farmers, vets,
colleges and levy bodies, last week, to identify specific
priorities and spending targets, farmers expressed anger at the
total lack of focus on TB.
"There was clearly dissatisfaction that there was not enough
emphasis on TB," said Ian Johnson, spokesman for the
south-west NFU.
"Everything else is dwarfed by its spectre."
Helen Ashcroft, manager of
Meat South West,
agreed that TB was a huge issue for the region's livestock farmers.
"But there are a lot of other diseases that we must not forget
about." These included Bovine Viral Diarrhoea in cattle, and
scrapie in sheep, she said. "It would have a huge impact on the
industry if we could eradicate these diseases."
One project which drew considerable support was a regional
veterinary centre, through which vet students could back up
qualified vets, undertake research, and instigate whole herd health
plans, said Miss Ashcroft. Improved knowledge transfer was also
essential to disseminate the wealth of information already
collated.
"But TB does need to be addressed - they can't just scrape over
it." The £1.2m capital grant scheme should therefore be targeted at
developing TB exemption units, to free up cattle trade and
movements, she added.
