Earlier this month, the FUW joined a variety of farmers, veterinary professionals and academics at a lecture by staunch anti-cull campaigner Sir Brian May on alternative bovine TB control methods.
The lecture, which was hosted by the Ser Cymru Centre of Excellence for Bovine Tuberculosis at Aberystwyth University, outlined a long-term bovine TB project undertaken on a farm sponsored by Brian May in South Devon.
The farm, known as Gatcombe Farm, has achieved notoriety as a premise at the centre of new and novel testing regimes for bovine TB control. Gatcombe has employed both PCR and Actiphage testing over and above statutory disease control tests in a bid to detect and eradicate the disease from the farm. As part of this enhanced management, the role of slurry in spreading TB was evaluated and the project concluded that slurry management and biosecurity were effectively the only factors of interest in bovine TB transmission and control. The role of TB infected badger sets was investigated, however the conclusion was that neither badger culling nor badger vaccination were relevant in the fight against bovine TB.
Post lecture, the FUW remains unconvinced by Sir Brian May’s optimism that this project represents the solution to TB eradication in Wales. ‘Brian’s Soapbox Blog’ reports that this project represents the ‘potential to end this misery - relatively quickly’. However we believe that bovine TB is a complex disease and that trying to adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is wholly unworkable. The FUW is therefore extremely alarmed that the experiences of just one farm are being heralded as the mechanism by which to eradicate bovine TB on a pan-Wales basis. Moreover the fact that this farm is yet again under bovine TB restrictions serves to further demonstrate the long-term effort needed to identify and mitigate all sources of infection.
The event aimed to promote respectful dialogue about bovine TB, with discussions centred around finding new approaches and techniques to detect and control this disease on farm. Sadly, although not unexpectedly, the opportunity to discuss new ways of identifying bovine TB transmission routes was largely overshadowed by anti-cull rhetoric and a failure to understand the complex role played by badgers in transmitting this disease on some farms.
Genuine partnership and collaboration requires all sources of infection to be objectively investigated. Policies must be backed by strong scientific evidence as this is crucial in underpinning progressive and successful disease control strategies. Sadly, Sir Brian May’s attempts to exonerate the badger vector he so firmly believes have no role in TB transmission overshadowed the Gatcombe Project and closed down the dialogue that he was so keen to participate in.