Gruffydd opens door to wildlife TB action

Wales’s new rural affairs minister has said he is prepared to take action in wildlife to tackle bovine TB, if scientific advisers recommend it.

Speaking to Farmers Weekly at the Royal Welsh Show, Llyr Gruffydd said: “We’ve already said that we will look at the evidence of the advice that they provide us, and if that means taking action in wildlife, then that is something we will do.”

He added: “We have to fight the disease on three fronts, in cattle, in livestock, in people, but also in wildlife. I’m up for any which way that they suggest is the best way forward.”

See also: TB target ‘doesn’t feel doable’, says Welsh first minister

Mr Gruffydd said he would be guided by upcoming evidence from the Welsh government’s TB Programme Board and Technical Advisory Group, having previously criticised the former Labour administration’s approach to tackling the disease in badgers.

Red tape review

The minister also promised a “palpable reduction” in red tape for farmers, with an independent review of bureaucracy under way, while insisting Welsh production standards would be protected.

“We’re not looking to roll back on the standards that we rightly have,” he said. “This process isn’t about rolling back on the standards. It’s about making sure that they’re delivered in a way that works better for farmers.”

Welsh rural affairs minister Llyr Gruffydd (left) being quizzed by Farmers Weekly chief reporter Philip Case at the Royal Welsh Show © MAG/Anne Dunn

He pointed to plans to remove duplication between farm assurance inspections and Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) requirements, with the aim of “one form, one vet visit” meeting both obligations.

On the Welsh government’s new £1bn funding commitment through to March 2030, equivalent to about £338m a year, Mr Gruffydd acknowledged financial pressures but said the guarantee delivers something farmers have long demanded.

“They haven’t had for many years a long-term certainty around funding,” he said. “You just cannot plan your farm business and your investments around that 12-month line of sight of investment.”

Mr Gruffydd described the funding settlement as “a baseline”, adding: “I will always argue for more, but we at least know now that that certainty is there, and we build from there.”

Three main aims

Asked how he wanted to be judged as minister, Mr Gruffydd identified three measurable goals: bringing Wales back on course to become TB-free by 2041, delivering “a palpable reduction in red tape and bureaucracy” for farmers, and increasing uptake of the SFS.

“I want the Sustainable Farming Scheme to be embraced by a wider cohort of farmers,” he said.

“Getting to a point where the vast majority of Welsh farmers are voting with their feet and being part of the scheme.”