BBC’s Panorama highlights bovine TB misery
The devastating effect of bovine tuberculosis was laid bare in a TV documentary that featured a farmer watching on helplessly as his infected cattle were slaughtered.
Badgers: Dodging the Bullet, a BBC Panorama programme, featured chilling footage of three TB-infected cows belonging to Gloucestershire farmer David Barton being shot dead.
“I feel sick, to be honest, because it’s a terrible waste of breeding stock,” said Mr Barton, choking back tears, moments after he saw the cows being shot in the head by a slaughterman.
“This beef herd has been my life’s work, really. I started it when I was 19,” he added. “This is incredibly distressing for me and I’m not really sure I want to continue with this because it is so upsetting.”
Mr Barton, who runs Manor Farm, in Middle Duntisbourne, last month said 44 of his cattle have had to be slaughtered since February after they tested positive for TB.
He said the cows going down with TB were those that had spent the winter outside, grazing in fields alongside badgers.
“Newborn calves and their mothers who remain indoors during the winter remain clear of infection,” Mr Barton said.
“I don’t believe any farmer wants to see badgers culled. The problem is, there is no question about it. The reason why my cows have TB is badgers.”
The programme, which was aired on BBC One on Monday night (12 November), revealed new infections in Gloucestershire herds have been averaging about 200 a year.
In the past eight years, the number of cattle slaughtered because of bTB has risen by 50% in the UK.
DEFRA said the disease led to the slaughter of 26,000 cattle in England last year, costing the taxpayer nearly £100m.
Last month, the government postponed its plans for a pilot cull of badgers in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset until next summer. The cull was postponed after badger numbers were found to be much higher than originally thought.
In light of the new figures, the NFU said it could not be confident of removing 70% of badgers in both areas – the minimum figure required for the pilot to be considered a success.
The Panorama programme, which is available to view on BBC iPlayer, gave balanced viewpoints from those for and against the controversial policy.
During the programme, RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant warned: “The spotlight of attention will be turned on those marksmen and on those who give permission for this cull to take place. They will be named and we will decide as citizens of this country whether they will be shamed.”
His comments were criticised by the NFU today (Tuesday), who said Mr Grant had “overstepped the mark”.
Queen guitarist Brian May, who is strongly opposed to a cull, said cattle vaccination, was the “Holy grail”.
However, the European Commission has ruled out the introduction of a cattle vaccine to prevent bovine TB for the foreseeable future, because of the difficulty distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated cows.
In a bid to clear the way for a cattle vaccine, the AHVLA has developed a blood test – a DIVA test – that can distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals.
DEFRA is currently seeking regulatory approval for the DIVA test to be used in combination with a cattle vaccine. However, the timetable remains uncertain.
“I would love it if I had a vaccine – if I could press a button this evening and say: ‘vaccinate’,” DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson told Panorama.
“At the moment, sadly, we are still in the early stages of development and there will be quite a lengthy process of proving these vaccines in the field.
“But for the time being, I have to use the tools at my disposal and one of these tools is to bear down on the disease in wildlife by culling.”
Mr Paterson said he was “completely determined” that the two pilot culls would go ahead, adding that it was “the right policy”.
“I have been put in here by the prime minister to help galvanise the rural economy and improve the environment and I cannot think of any other policy which will help the cattle and dairy industry and improve the environment more than this,” he added.
But anti-cull campaigner Jay Tiernan from the Stop the Cull lobby group said he was “very optimistic” the cull would not go ahead, but anti-cull campaigners were still working hard and planning activity.