Bovine TB cases jump 17.5%
By Andrew Watts
THE NUMBER of cattle confirmed with bovine tuberculosis in Great Britain increased by 17.5% during the first eight weeks of 2005 compared with the same period during 2004.
But the rise in positive reactors can be partially attributed to the 15% increase in the number of animals tested compared with the same period last year.
Up until the end of Feb 2005, the State Veterinary Service had tested 1,122,236 cattle (up 62,740 from 2004) from 10,602 herds (up 44 from 2004), of which 5662 (0.005% of animals tested) were slaughtered as reactors.
As a direct result of DEFRA”s decision to introduce a zero tolerance policy towards farmers whose herd tests become overdue, the number of herds under movement restrictions almost doubled from last year”s 3588 to 6720 herds as at Feb 28.
biggest rise
The west of England continues to see the biggest rise in the disease, with 3680 of the total animals slaughtered registered to farms in the West Country.
Robert Forster, chief executive of the National Beef Association, said the figures continued to emphasise that the TB strategy is failing to tackle the disease adequately.
“The continued spread of 18% compound growth a year is allowing the issue to become a national issue,” said Mr Forster. “DEFRA will soon find it hard to defend paying 140m a year to protect the badger when their population is soaring,” he added.
A similar message came from Neil Cutler of the NFU, who said: “The reality is we need a badger cull. That message may be unpalatable to some, but it”s the truth.”