TB

Phase 3 of the field trials will take place on commercial cattle farms in areas of England and Wales, where there is a low incidence of bTB and are set to be completed in 2026/7

The TB24c licence will authorise the general movement of bovine animals to a licensed slaughterhouse, allowing bTB-restricted keepers to send cattle either directly or through an approved bTB slaughter gathering to an approved slaughterhouse in England and Wales

Dairy farmer Michael Williams and his vet Rhiannon Lewis are utilising historical test data on-farm to identify ‘residual disease risk' in clear-testing cattle, through the identification and management of high-risk animals for slaughter and improved biosecurity

Under the new recommendations farmers will be able to choose to delay the removal of a cow or heifer in the last 60 days of pregnancy and animals that have given birth in the previous 7 days, subject to biosecurity conditions to protect other cattle in the herd

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: "The success of the bTB eradication strategy is dependent on a range of methods to tackle the disease, including badger vaccination, responsible cattle movements and badger control"

The UFU said they remain determined to ensure none of the 'barbaric proposals' come to pass and will continue to 'exhaust every avenue to safeguard the future of NI's agri industry'

The plans will be subjected to a five-week consultation and would look to retain badger culling as an option in targeted parts only of the high-risk area and edge areas including much of southwest and central England

The Cornock family from Pembrokeshire said the impact of TB on the farm has become 'much worse' since being put under severe interpretation testing. Their hard has dropped significantly from 338 to 243

Devon farm vet, Mr Dick Sibley, said he has been removed from Defra's bovine TB partnership group for ‘challenging' the current bTB programme and its lack of strategic approach

UFU president David Brown said: "We made a strong case against proposed TB livestock valuation cuts and underlined the crucial difference between compensation and valuations. We stressed that these cuts would alienate farmers