Bovine TB will be caught and stamped out more quickly in England’s cattle herds under plans to strengthen testing in the highest-risk areas of the country.

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Six monthly routine tests will be introduced for all herds in the High Risk Area – mainly the South West and parts of the Midlands – with annual tests preserved for herds that have gone five or more years without disease, and farms accredited under the Cattle Herd Certification Standards (CHeCS) scheme, requiring tougher biosecurity measures to be observed.

Grants to vaccinate badgers in the Edge Area of the country – the ‘buffer’ between the High Risk and Low Risk Areas – are also available now for schemes to run next year.

These moves are part of the government’s comprehensive 25-year plan to eradicate bovine TB in England and come as recent peer-reviewed research shows badger control in Gloucestershire (58%) and Somerset (21%) – where culling began in 2013 – has contributed to significant reductions in the disease in herds.

Results published today also confirm that all 19 licensed intensive badger control operations achieved the badger population reductions needed to realise disease control benefits.

Farming Minister George Eustice said:

“Our comprehensive strategy to eradicate bovine TB is delivering results. We are introducing more frequent testing of cattle to find and stamp out disease more quickly than ever before, to add to our tough restrictions on cattle movements to stop disease spreading. We are also addressing the disease in wildlife and it is encouraging to see early research shows badger control is having the expected results in driving down levels of TB.”

Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens said:

“This year’s results show that badger control can be delivered successfully on a much wider scale, with all 11 new areas delivering effective operations. Expansion into further areas, alongside our robust cattle movement and testing regime, will allow us to achieve and maintain long term reductions in the level of TB across the South West and Midlands where the disease is widespread.”

 “ We will continue to offer help, advice and support to farmers who want to apply for a cull licence in these areas and where culling will have a beneficial impact on disease control. Minette Batters, NFU Deputy President, said in response.

“The Chief Vet has reiterated that preventing infection of cattle from the significant reservoirs of TB infection in local badger populations is an essential component of the Government’s 25-year TB eradication strategy and that proactive culling remains the best available option to deal with the reservoir of disease in wildlife in these areas.

“No one has ever said culling alone will eradicate bovine TB. Only by using all the available options – cattle testing, cattle movement controls, on-farm biosecurity, and vaccination of badgers in areas on the edge of disease spread – will we stand a chance of controlling and eradicating this devastating disease, which led to more than 29,000 cattle being slaughtered in England last year.

“The introduction of default six-monthly testing in the high risk area is a logical step, given that the frequency of testing has been increased in the edge area. We still seek assurances from Defra that when this is introduced they will have the capacity to implement it, to ensure farmers are not punished for non-compliance if they are unable to get a vet out on farm to do a bTB test because no-one is available.

“We are disappointed that Defra has decided to press ahead with restricting compensation for cattle which are unclean when presented for slaughter. We have concerns over how this policy will be implemented and managed and will be seeking clarity from Defra on the detail behind this and also the changes to the rules around the delayed slaughter of pregnant cattle which test positive for bTB.

“The introduction of new compensation arrangements for non-bovine species will provide some certainty and security to farmers who previously would have received little or no compensation for animals they lost to bTB which could have had significant implications for the future of their businesses.”

Claire Bass Executive Director of HSI UK criticised the cull calling the government a “Jekyll and Hyde” on animal welfare

“One day it's announcing a new Animal Welfare Bill and pledging to enhance animal welfare post-Brexit, and the next it's releasing shocking statistics that describe a cruel, bloody and pointless massacre on tens of thousands of badgers. It's likely that thousands suffered lingering painful deaths from botched gunshot wounds, several carcasses have been found with appalling injuries. Please walk the talk Mr Gove: the UK will never earn the title of 'world leader in animal welfare' as long as you permit the horrific slaughter of British wildlife."

Professor Alastair Macmillan, veterinary adviser to the Humane Society International/UK and a former government scientist said:

"I find it deeply depressing that more nearly 20 000 more badgers have been killed this year as part of the Government’s scientifically discredited culling programme. These statistics are a sad indictment of DEFRA's stubborn pursuit of this failed policy over the past five years which has seen the unnecessary deaths of 34,103 badgers. Michael Gove has said that he will look at the science behind the badger cull, and when he does he will find that Defra’s own published analysis of the first three years of culling shows there is no evidence that the death and suffering of so many wild animals has made any difference to the level of TB in cattle. As a veterinarian with 40 years’ experience working on controlling infectious disease in cattle, I urge Mr Gove to start listening to the science and immediately call a halt to this pointless and inhumane cull"