Vet morale at rock bottom

The vet, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they and their colleagues felt ‘powerless’ in addressing the problem of bovine TB in cattle in the wake of Defra’s decision not to sanction a badger cull.

“Things are looking really serious. There is not a single person I know [working in Animal Health] who believes the main source of infection is not badgers.

“The sad thing is we all believe it is a wildlife issue and that if we had a cull, we could sort it out but as it is we are going nowhere with the disease.

“It is dismal, just killing, killing, killing cattle but not controlling the real cause. Morale is at rock bottom in Animal Health.”

The vet said the mood was not helped by a presentation from a senior Defra official soon after the decision containing the message that Defra and Animal Health staff now had to ‘get used to having bTB, put up with it and work around it’.

Animal Health vets were warned prior to the announcement not to show any signs of disagreement with the decision in conversation with farmers.

The vet said some colleagues got round this by reading out the message to farmers ‘while trying to keep a straight face’.

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