Bovine TB

UFU said it has been told by Northern Ireland's Chief Veterinary Officer that the current bTB strategy review was still in ‘draft form' and had not yet undergone scrutiny by policy developers

UFU president William Irvine and dairy farmer from County Armagh said: "DAERA's review of NI's TB strategy is a step too far. There is extremely limited focus on the most critical issue – the need for an effective eradication programme that addresses all sources of infection"

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

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 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

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Wales' Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths said ‘steady progress' was being made in tackling bovine TB, but 'good biosecurity' on-farm was the best way to keep infection out