The government has unveiled a new group which will advise on Bovine TB policy decisions. Farming Minister Jim Paice made the announcement today, following a review of the Bovine TB Eradication Group for England (TBEG), which was set up in 2008 to address bTB.

The newly formed Bovine TB Eradication Advisory Group for England (TBEAG) will be made up, as was the last group, primarily of government and industry stakeholders. However, although the farming minister today claimed the TBEAG membership would “Be broadened to include additional areas of scientific expertise and wildlife and conservation knowledge,” the board’s make up may cause concern for conservationists ahead of the proposed English badger cull.

The previous group was made up entirely of farming industry and veterinary representatives and it appears the TBEAG will see little change; of the ten non-governmental members, five represent the farming industry, four are veterinarians and one is a National Trust Enterprise Director.  

The new group will be chaired by current EBLEX chair John Cross, a mixed farmer from Norfolk. The TBEAG will be a subgroup of the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England, which will make direct recommendations on policy decisions to ministers.

John Cross said of the formation of the new group, “If the cattle industry is to rid itself of this hugely damaging disease, it will require a new way of thinking, a clear action plan and a doggedly determined approach to the challenge. There are many complications and sensitivities around attacking this disease, but we need to see a way through these, and remain focussed on the essential outcome that is eradication.”

Bovine TB continues to have a marked effect on the British cattle industry; the disease led to the slaughter of over 26,000 cattle in Britain last year. The government plans to allow two trial culls of badgers, believed to be vectors for infection, to go ahead in the South-West as part of its eradication strategy. However, the legality of the cull proposals has been successfully challenged by the Badger Trust and will be subject to a High Court review next week. The TBEAG’s first meeting will be in July.

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