Welsh body looks to wipe out Johne’s disease

The Welsh Animal Health and Welfare group are one step closer to introducing a policy to eradicate Johne’s disease in Wales.

Speaking to Farmers Weekly at the Royal Welsh Show after a meeting on the subject, Kim-Marie Haywood from the NBA explained that the animal health group had discussed how best to tackle the issue in the country.

“We have been talking with Devon vet Dick Sibley to discuss how we can adapt his Johne’s control model – which has already been successfully used as part of the South West Healthy Livestock Initiative (SWHLI) – to eradicate Johne’s in Wales.”

The group identified four main pillars to tackle Johne’s: Bio security, surveillance, resilience and bio containment.

The project will work with farmers to identify their herd’s Johne’s disease status and risk of infection and then give them the tools to either eradicate or prevent the disease.

Johne’s is one of three key diseases identified by the group, including BVD and liver Fluke.

A BVD control strategy is already in place in Wales with up to 100 farms being recruited by Wales’ red meat promotion body, Hybu Cig Cymru, to screen their cattle and work with vets to control the disease on their farms.

“Johne’s is a much more complex disease than BVD. The ultimate aim is to eradicate it, however it will be a very long-term process,” Ms Haywood explained.