TFA WELCOMES DEFRA DECISION ON BOVINE TB CONTROL

The Tenant Farmers Association has paid tribute to DEFRA Secretary of State, Caroline Spelman for her announcement today on new bovine TB control measures.

 

TFA National Chairman Jeremy Walker said "I appreciate how very difficult it has been to make today's announcement. The Secretary of State has had many competing factors to consider in making her decision, not least those raised by groups with legitimate concerns about the animal welfare considerations involved. It is a sad fact that TB is now endemic both in cattle and badgers over a large part of England and Wales. Control measures to date have focused solely on cattle and it is right that such measures should now be extended to the badger population. The TFA wants to reach a situation where we have healthy cattle and healthy badgers coexisting in our farmed environment”.

 

"The TFA will be working closely with DEFRA to ensure that the pilot culling areas operate within the highest standards including those relating to animal welfare. I sincerely hope that the pilots will not become the focus of criminal interference. Not only will that lead to the tying up of scarce police resources but risks the maintenance of the high animal welfare standards required and human safety," said Mr Walker.

 

"Bovine TB is a horrible disease. Tens of thousands of cattle are slaughtered every year because of it. Of course there is a huge economic loss to the industry as a result of these losses but it is the human costs which are the hardest to bear. Many family farm businesses have been torn apart by endemic disease within their livestock as they have seen their farms locked down and animals suffer. Some farmers, sadly, have taken their own lives in the face of living with the consequences of TB in their herds. The human stress suffered as a result of this disease should not be underestimated. I very much hope that the Government's determination to proceed with pilot culling areas will provide those farm families who live day in and day out with this terrible disease with some hope for the future", said Mr Walker.

 

 

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