BVA welcomes approval of lay bovine TB testers in Wales
© Tim Scrivener Lay bovine TB testers can now work in private veterinary practices in Wales, following the decision to expand the approved tuberculin testers (ATTs) capacity in England.
The expansion comes after a successful trial in 2020 by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), looking to extend the use of ATTs, so that private veterinary businesses have the option of deploying them to carry out TB tests.
Under the scheme approved by the Welsh government, any lay TB tester authorised by Apha from 1 October will receive authorisation to work in both England and Wales.
See also: Lay bovine TB testers to start work in November
Existing testers in England will also be permitted to work in Wales subject to additional training.
Collin Willson, British Veterinary Association (BVA) Welsh branch president, said: “This is good news. The veterinary workforce in Wales has been universally stretched, including farm animal practices, and so the expansion of tuberculin skin testing capacity is a much-needed resource.
“In the British Veterinary Association’s joint response with BCVA [the British Cattle Veterinary Association] to the Defra consultation on this issue in 2018, we acknowledged the useful role appropriately trained and regulated lay TB testers could play as part of a veterinary-led team.
“We are reassured to see the new provisions lay down a requirement for all paraprofessionals to work within a vet-led team and meet strict veterinary supervision requirements.”
The BVA said it would work with the Welsh government to implement the scheme, starting this month.