The government has announced changes to cattle controls to reduce the risk of spreading bovine TB between cattle. The new measures form part of the government’s ‘bovine TB eradication plan,’ which also includes the acutely controversial badger cull, set to take place later this year.

From 1st July amendments to the rules on cattle movements will come into force, alongside changes to compensation policy, including reduced payments for owners of TB affected herds with overdue tests.

Announcing details of the changes, Agriculture Minister Jim Paice today said, “We need to stop the spread of bovine TB, that last year led to the slaughter of 26,000 cattle and could cost the taxpayer a billion pounds over the next ten years unless action is taken. These strengthened measures aim to help control the disease and eventually eradicate it.”

He said the new measures would complement research into a badger vaccine and pilot culls proposed slated for trial in Devon and Gloucester in the autumn. Having been successfully challenged on three points by the Badger Trust last month, cull plans will be subject to legal review in the High Court in July.

Cull opponents have said that efforts to reduce bovine TB should focus on cattle-based measures.

Changes to cattle controls were announced as part of the package of measures to tackle bovine TB in July last year. Changes to be introduced on 1st July include:

• Removing the exemption allowing cattle held on a farm for under 30 days to be moved without being tested, in order to reduce the risk of untested cattle spreading bovine TB when they are moved between different holdings;  
• Removing the pre-movement testing exemption for movements within ‘Sole Occupancy Authorities’ that have holdings in high and low risk TB areas; 
• Pre-movement testing for cattle moved from higher TB risk herds to agricultural shows where cattle are housed or are held there for more than 24 hours – to reduce the risk of untested cattle, from higher TB risk herds, spreading the disease through close contact with other cattle; and 
• Discouraging late testing of cattle for bovine TB to reduce disease spread risks for all cattle, by reducing compensation for owners of TB affected herds if tests are overdue by more than 60 days.

To further reduce the risk of TB spreading Defra will tighten controls around linked premises.  The department said farmers likely to be affected will be contacted by officials, and from 1st July:

• No new Sole Occupancy Authorities will be approved; and 
• No new Cattle Tracing System links between holdings in high and low TB risk areas will be approved, with existing links between high and low risk areas being removed on a phased basis.

The farming minister added, “The farming community has shown it is willing to shoulder its share of the burden to tackle bovine TB.  There is already a comprehensive range of robust TB in cattle control measures in place, but we must continuously look for ways to tighten them if we are ever going to get on top of this devastating disease.”

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