The announcement by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), that a new genetic index will be published on January 19, which aims to help UK farmers to select for cows with reduced susceptibility to bovine TB (bTB), has been welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
FUW Senior Policy Officer, Dr Hazel Wright, said: “We welcome this index as another 'tool in the toolbox' in the fight against bovine TB. However, it is by no means a silver bullet and the FUW will continue to lobby for a more evidence based approach to bovine TB control in Wales.”
The latest statistics show a worrying increase in the proportion of animals testing positive for bTB.
Sadly, the number of animals slaughtered in Wales in the first month of 2015 due to bTB was close to the number slaughtered in the whole of the UK three decades ago.
“Whilst genetic improvements in this field may provide farmers with additional armoury in their attempts to reduce susceptibility to bovine TB, there can be no doubt that, had the current Welsh Government heeded the advice of its own experts in terms of addressing the disease reservoir which exists in badgers, levels of bTB would be lower than they currently are,” added Dr Wright.
The decision in 2012 to replace plans to cull badgers in the Intensive Action Area (IAA) with a vaccination programme was branded by the FUW as a betrayal of Welsh farmers and taxpayers. Indeed, the Welsh Government’s own financial assessment concluded that culling would, by saving the lives of cattle, result in a net financial benefit, while vaccination would lead to a net loss of £3.5 million.
The Union remains resolute in its belief that Wales must return to a science led approach to controlling bTB in badgers; a fact that has been highlighted in the FUW’s 2016 Welsh Assembly Election Manifesto.
In the meantime, considerable concern exists regarding the proportionality of some measures being applied in the IAA and the severe economic restrictions they place on farms.
The Union would reiterate that it is imperative that the additional cattle controls present in the IAA for more than five years should now be lifted and what remains of the IAA vaccination budget should be used to help those farmers in the area who have endured additional costs not present in other areas.
The Union will continue to stress that a badger culling policy should be implemented at the earliest opportunity, in line with official ministerial advice previously received by the current Welsh Government.