The FUW is seeking members' views on the ibTB interactive risk based trading tool which maps bovine TB outbreaks in England and Wales over the previous 10 years.
The ibTB site is currently open access, free to use and can be found at the following URL: www.ibtb.co.uk. ibTB is currently funded by Defra and the Welsh Government and has been developed by the Environmental Research Group Oxford (ERGO) and APHA. ERGO and APHA are continuing to develop ibTB and have designed a User survey relating to the functionality of the site and also the factors that should be included when using the site to determine the TB risk of cattle prior to purchase.
ibTB already displays risk based trading information for cattle herds in England. This includes the number of years that a herd has been clear of TB. However, there are other more complex ‘health scores’ which might be included that combine different pieces of information. This could include the number of reactor cattle per breakdown (as a percentage of the number of animals in the herd), or the movement histories of herds from which animals are potentially being purchased. Another potential measure of risk being proposed is whether or not the herd is a member of an accredited scheme such as CHeCS.
Given the current rhetoric surrounding the use of risk based trading for TB in Wales, the FUW is urging members to get involved in the survey below and make their views known. It is essential that all regional risk areas are represented to give a holistic view of the advantages and disadvantages of the provision of such information.
The survey link is below and will be open from the 25th November until the 25th December.