Bovine TB keeps its grip on GB herds

The bovine tuberculosis crisis shows no signs of abating, according to DEFRA statistics for 2010.

New herd TB incidents rose from 4602 in 2009 to 4703 across Great Britain in the 12 months to 31 December.

England’s farms fared the worst with a rise of 300 herd breakdowns to a total of 3622 compared with 3350 herds in 2009.

But figures for Wales revealed a decline of almost 200 fewer herd incidents.

Movement restrictions continue to blight cattle farming. Despite a slight fall, of 400 herds under these measures, a total of almost 8000 farms faced movement restrictions during 2010.