Welsh bovine TB farm trials extended
© Tim Scrivener Two Welsh pilot projects testing farmer-led approaches to reducing bovine TB risks are being extended until March 2027 following encouraging results.
The Pembrokeshire and North Wales projects involve 28 farms and 12 veterinary practices, supported by Aberystwyth University, with farmers and vets working together to identify and manage TB risks at herd level.
Both will remain in their existing areas, with the same farms and veterinary practices participating.
See also: TB target ‘doesn’t feel doable’, says Welsh first minister
The extension was announced as rural resilience minister Llyr Gruffydd met farmers and vets involved in the work at Anglesey Agricultural Show on Tuesday (11 August).
Participating farms have made changes to herd management, cattle purchasing and biosecurity to reduce the risk of TB entering or spreading within their businesses.
Farmers and vets are also using herd data to identify practical interventions, including the voluntary removal of animals considered at higher risk.
Participants now meet every four to six weeks to discuss what is working, share experiences and identify areas for improvement, while project teams monitor uptake of training and different approaches.
On-farm consequences
Mr Gruffydd said TB continued to have serious financial and emotional consequences for farming families.
“TB is a dark shadow over the family farm, not only the financial aspects, though of course that’s important, but the strain and anxiety the disease causes.
“These projects show the power of farmers, vets, researchers, the Animal and Plant Heath Agency and Welsh government working together. Together, we can break this vicious cycle.”
Chief veterinary officer for Wales Dr Richard Irvine said findings from the extended projects would help inform work to refresh Wales’s TB eradication programme.
“Both projects clearly show farmers and vets developing herd-level and local TB actions together – to reduce TB risks in affected herds, and to keep the disease out.”
Project costs
The Welsh government said each project receives £200,000 a year to cover things like additional veterinary costs associated with the work, but not routine TB testing, which remains funded through existing APHA arrangements.
The Pembrokeshire project, launched in July 2023, will receive £800,000 in total by March 2027, while the North Wales project, which began in December 2024, will receive £600,000.
Wider action
Farm unions welcomed the extension, but called for lessons from the pilots to be translated into wider action.
Farmers’ Union of Wales animal health and dairy committee chairman Gerwyn Williams said continued support recognised the value of “sharing scientific understanding and translating it into practical action on farms”.
NFU Cymru president Abi Reader added that the “learnings from these projects must be rolled out and implemented swiftly”.
Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust Cymru policy director Sue Evans also called for action against infection in wildlife, saying a “full spectrum of tools” would be needed to eradicate TB.
Latest figures show 479 new TB incidents in Wales in the 12 months to March 2026, with 10,395 cattle slaughtered, representing a year-on-year decrease of 23.1% and 21.1% respectively.