Cattle slaughter rise points to TB "national crisis"
Ministers have labelled the spread of tuberculosis in cattle a "national crisis" after official figures today showed more than 28,000 cattle with the disease were slaughtered last year.
The rural South West has the largest concentration of the disease in the country, destroying the livelihoods of farmers across the region.
The slaughter of 28,284 cattle in England in 2012 represented a 7% increase compared to 2011. In Devon, 6,535 cattle were killed, 3,257 in Cornwall, 2,014 in Somerset and 1,192 in Dorset.
Farming Minister David Heath said: "Bovine TB continues to spread at an unacceptable rate, leading to the slaughter of thousands of cattle and ongoing misery for our dairy farmers.
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"What was once confined to a small area of the South West has the potential to become a national crisis and if left unchecked could cost the taxpayer £1billion over the next ten years."
The Government recently confirmed two culls of badgers this year – one in Somerset, the other in Gloucestershire – as part of a package of measures to control the disease, which is opposed by Labour an animal welfare organisations.
Full story in tomorrow's Western Morning News
3 Comments
by fischadler
Friday, March 15 2013, 11:26AM
“The petition against the cull on the Governments own website has reached 174,500 signatures which is a clear 60,000 more than any other open petition at this time.
92% of the Great British public are against the cull.
Parliament voted 147 to 28 against the cull.
There are no scientists outside of Defra who support the cull.
The cull will have no meaningful effect on Bovine Tb and could in fact make matters worse.
There will however be a meaningful loss of respect for farmers involved in this diabolical slaughter of our most iconic mammal. There will also be a meaningful boycott of the farms involved.
Yeo Valley are not slaughtering badgers and are therefore badger friendly. Others should follow suit.
National Trust, RSPB, many Wildlife Trusts and the Welsh government are vaccinating badgers and England should pursue this option together with the increased bio security measures and better animal husbandry which is supposed to be happening on farms”
by fischadler
Friday, March 15 2013, 11:26AM
“The petition against the cull on the Governments own website has reached 174,500 signatures which is a clear 60,000 more than any other open petition at this time.
92% of the Great British public are against the cull.
Parliament voted 147 to 28 against the cull.
There are no scientists outside of Defra who support the cull.
The cull will have no meaningful effect on Bovine Tb and could in fact make matters worse.
There will however be a meaningful loss of respect for farmers involved in this diabolical slaughter of our most iconic mammal. There will also be a meaningful boycott of the farms involved.
Yeo Valley are not slaughtering badgers and are therefore badger friendly. Others should follow suit.
National Trust, RSPB, many Wildlife Trusts and the Welsh government are vaccinating badgers and England should pursue this option together with the increased bio security measures and better animal husbandry which is supposed to be happening on farms”
by PeteTorq
Wednesday, March 13 2013, 3:48PM
“Infected wildlife, badgers and deer,can transmit the disease to cattle. However, it is not certain what the proportion is.exposure may occur: at pasture or where cattle are gathered together such as cattle sheds. When cattle are together an infection may spread by the bacteria being carried in moisture. The type of atmosphere commonly found in cattle sheds.Direct contact with an infected bovine animal may breathe in the bacteria. Simply put there are a number of ways in which TB can be transmitted to cattle and the issue will not be solved by allowing a bunch of gun wielding red necks loose to vent their anger on the badger population. Vaccination is the only way it will ever be brought under control.”