The Farmers Union of Wales has strongly criticised the irresponsible narrative created by the BBC’s TV programme (Friday 23 August) ‘Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmer and Me’.

The agricultural industry lives and breathes this harrowing disease that continues to affect Welsh and UK cattle herds. Over 11,000 cattle were slaughtered in Wales during the past year (April 2023 to March 2024) affecting not only farming businesses, but also every family member and farm worker involved. There is also a significant financial burden on the industry and the taxpayer.

FUW President, Ian Rickman said: “Airing a documentary without balanced scientific evidence offers nothing to the debate around bovine TB control.”

“The documentary overindulged an individual's opinion based on unproven theories of a singular experiment on one farm. The farm in question continues to be in a cycle of bovine TB breakdowns which is a situation that is sadly mirrored on many farms across Wales, where current government policy does not allow the culling of badgers to control the spread of TB in cattle.”

“It is extremely disappointing that the programme failed to portray the vast complexity of bovine TB in any detail, with no expert counter-argument to the proposed theories despite there being opportunities to do so.

“As a farming union representing Welsh farmers, we would welcome the opportunity to work with the BBC to offer a balanced debate based on scientific evidence to try and move the conversation forward and eliminate this devastating disease.

“Frustratingly, the badger was depicted as the victim, with little regard given for the thousands of cattle slaughtered despite scientific research supporting the transmission of infection between cattle and wildlife.”

The FUW acknowledges that the current on-farm test used to identify bovine TB is not sufficiently robust, however, similar testing technology used in conjunction with a fully holistic approach to bovine TB eradication has been successful in other countries.

“The agricultural community as a whole continues to suffer the devastating consequences of bovine TB in cattle following decades of inefficient Government policies. As was shown in the documentary, we have recently seen a number of family farms publicly share the emotional turmoil, the challenging business impact and the impractical workload and mental health effects of dealing with bovine TB on farms.

“As stewards of the countryside, farmers want to see healthy cattle and wildlife on their land. The FUW continues to call for a holistic and scientifically supported approach to be adopted to eradicate bovine TB.

“The agricultural industry welcomes the long awaited Bovine TB Eradication Board and Technical Advisory Group set up by the Welsh Government that will consider emerging and existing scientifically supported methods of eradicating bovine TB in earnest.”

Evidence from the first, strictly licensed and controlled badger cull areas in England show that rates of bovine TB infections in cattle have reduced by 56% following four years of badger culling.

“The Welsh Government must allow itself to recognise and accept the recommendations of their Advisory Board if they are fully committed to a bovine TB-free Wales. It is now time for Wales to step forward and get to grips with this debilitating disease,” Ian Rickman concluded.