Family accuses Welsh minister of cowardice over cull
A family in Wales which has been forced to quit beef farming after its herd was ravaged by bovine tuberculosis, has accused the Welsh Government of doing too little to tackle the disease.
Angela and Helen Winsor were left in tears as 24 more cattle from their herd were sent for slaughter on 8 March. The sisters have lost about 100 suckler cattle to the disease in the past two years. Just a few healthy animals remain to be sold.
With just days to go before the Welsh Government is due to announce its decision on whether to cull badgers to halt bovine TB, the sisters called the minister responsible for bovine TB eradication a coward.
Environment minister John Griffiths, blocked a proposed badger cull when he came to office in May last year. Instead Mr Griffiths ordered a scientific review of the options for dealing with the disease.
The sisters farm at Plas Pantsaeson, Moylegrove, Ceredigion, a part of the Welsh countryside included in the proposed badger culling area. They said the farm was over-run with badgers.
They have urged the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, to visit the farm to see first hand the devastating consequences of bovine TB.
But a spokesman for the Welsh Government said John Griffiths had visited a number of farms and met farmers who were dealing with the fallout of TB in their herds.
“That is why our programme for government commits us to taking a science-led approach to tackling this incredibly serious disease,” said the spokesman.
“The minister received the report from the bovine TB science review panel on the science base for the Welsh Government’s bovine TB eradication programme in December.”
Since then work had been ongoing to fully consider the report and its implications for the government’s overall programme for the eradication of bovine TB in Wales, he added.
“The Welsh Government remains committed to eradicating the disease and the Environment Minister has confirmed he will make a statement on this issue in March.”
Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Huws Gruffydd criticised the delay in publishing the findings of the scientific review. “The longer this goes on then the more credibility is given to the fact that this could be political cowardice,” he said.
He admitted the decision to press ahead with a cull was not an easy or popular one for the Welsh Government to make but insisted it would be the right decision.
Figures released in January revealed that cattle herds under bovine TB restrictions in Wales are increasing. In the first eight months of 2011 there were on average 140 herds a month under restriction compared to a monthly figure of 114 in 2010 and 103 in 2009.