Scotland's decision to go TB free is a watershed moment in the UK bTB crisis

Scotland’s decision to pursue TB-free status is a watershed moment in the UK’s bovine TB crisis.

It reflects clearly the frustration felt north of the border at being dragged down and tainted by a problem limited largely to England and Wales.

But while the desire to metaphorically rebuild Hadrian’s wall to protect the image, export potential and health status of Scottish cattle is understandable, the move is highly controversial due to the potentially significant implications for cross border trade.

What the application would mean  

Scotland meets the criteria for Officially Tuberculosis Free (OTF) status because of the consistently low national level of disease recorded over a sustained period.

Scotland’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Simon Hall, will make a presentation to support its application for the status to the EU  Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) on September 8 or 9.

If , as anticipated, the vote goes its way, Scotland would need to amend its domestic legislation. It is expected the new status would then come into force next spring.

OTF status would enable Scotland to trade without restriction with other countries with TB-free status, thus removing burdens like pre-movement testing that currently apply to Scottish cattle exports.

But the flip side is the there would be tougher measures to protect Scottish livestock from regions with lower status – like England and Wales.

Scotland already requires pre- and post-movement testing of live cattle coming in from one- and two-year testing areas south of the border. This would remain unchanged but the pre-movement testing requirement (but not post-movement testing) would be extended to cattle from three- and four-year testing areas. Animals going direct to slaughter in Scotland would not be affected.

OTF status could also allow Scotland to phase out its requirement for compulsory TB testing over a number of years.

Why Scotland has taken this step

Announcing the decision to apply last week, Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said the new status would ‘further enhance’ the global reputation of Scottish beef and ‘improve access to new and exiting markets’.

The move appears to have been driven in part by the ban imposed on live British cattle imports by Dutch and Belgium producers last year, following the discovery of bTB in a batch of calves imported to Holland from England.

NFU Scotland vice president Nigel Miller highlighted the opportunity for exports of black and white calves for veal to Holland, Belgium and France, as well as easier access to EU markets for pedigree breeders.

He said the application sent out a ‘clear message to the rest of the UK and beyond about the efforts being in Scotland to improve the health record of our livestock’.

Mr Hall, Scotish CVO, highlighted the need ‘strengthen Scotland’s defence’ against a potentially costly disease in light of the ‘growing potential threat’ from south of the border.

Scotland, he said, was currently particularly vulnerable to cattle coming in from low risk areas that originated in high risk areas.

Trading concerns

But there is a potential downside. Scottish feeders and breeders buy an estimated 40,000 store and breeding cattle each year from the rest of the UK, mostly from low risk TB areas.

There is a very real fear that a reluctance of sellers in these areas to pre-movement test will reduce supplies to Scottish farmers and abattoirs and have a knock on effect for markets on both sides of the border.

NFU livestock chairman, Alistair Mackintosh, who farms near the border in Cumbria and used to sell cattle into Scotland, said farmers like himself would be prepared to pre-movement test to sell to Scottish buyers – as long as they received a premium to do so.

But Chris Dodds, executive director of the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA), said there was ‘no way’ Scottish would be able to compensate farmers for the cost, estimated at £8-£10 per head, and inconvenience of the test.

He said at markets near the border, like Carlisle, just over 20 per cent of cattle go to Scottish buyers. Most farmers in three-and four-year testing areas who send cattle to these markets would not be prepared to test their cattle on the ‘off chance that one in five might go to Scotland’.

National Beef Association (NBA) chairman Christopher Thomas-Everard reiterated this concern. He said feedback from NBA members in the north of England was that they would be reluctant to pre-movement test because of the cost but also the fear of the dire consequences a ‘false positive’ result would bring.

The NBA is supporting the application as a way of improving export access for Scottish beef but Mr Thomas Everard said Scotland must ensure industry structures are not damaged by the move.

As well as the threat to abattoirs and livestock markets, there is a fear that the Scottish trade could become ‘dearer’, while the value of animals in northern England could be affected by reduced access to Scotland. 

The Scottish meat sector is vehemently opposed to the application on the back of these fears.  

Ian Anderson, executive manager of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW), said: “At a time when we are already suffering from high prices and lack of numbers that this could make a bad situation worse. If we do not have the raw material we can’t operate and we will see the Scottish abattoir sector shrink as a result.”

Added disease risk?

Mr Thomas Everard suggested there could, perversely, be an increased disease risk if

Scottish buyers, unable to source from three- and four-year testing areas, switched their attention to high risk areas where pre-movement testing is compulsory anyway.

He warned  that phasing out routine testing, as Scotland would be entitled to do, could then allow the disease to take hold if got into the country. “Our message is they must keep up the testing,” he said.  

Addressing concerns

But the Scottish Government and NFUS are stressing that the final details are not finalised and that there is now a chance to sit down with other stakeholders to address any concerns before the change is made.

NFU Scotland’s Nigel Miller acknowledged the ‘worry’ over the extra requirements but he does not anticipate major disruption.

He pointed out that pre- and post-movement testing from high risk areas was already ‘working fine’ in Scotland.

He predicted that volumes of cattle coming into Scotland would remain unchanged but that the way cattle were traded would alter, with more animals bought privately or through a dealer.

He suggested that markets in England could also ‘develop a new trade’ in buying up animals from English and Welsh farms and getting them pre-movement tested prior to moving them to Scotland. 

Another option NFUS is keen to explore is designating Scottish farmers who feed animals that only go to slaughter as ‘secure units’ at which testing could be done on arrival rather than pre-movement.

He added that ways to minimise disruption, notably for farmers with cross border holdings, will be explored.

But others remain sceptical about the scope for mitigating the impact of the restrictions. “Short of giving every producer north of the border £10 for pre-movement what else can they do?” Mr Anderson said.

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