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Bovine TB biggest threat for Shropshire farmers
Friday 6th January 2012, 10:59AM GMT.
Bovine tuberculosis is spiralling out of control and is now one of the biggest threats to Shropshire’s beef and dairy industries, the National Farmers’ Union said today.
In 2010, some 2,165 Shropshire cattle were slaughtered to control the spread of the disease, compared to 473 in 2003. Although the full figures for 2011 are not yet available, 1,362 cattle were slaughtered between January and August.
During that time 1,981 tests were carried out on herds in the county, with 371 herds placed under restriction.
Badgers spread the disease, and later this year the Government will announce two pilot badger cull projects.
Last year bovine TB cost taxpayers £100 million.
Shropshire NFU spokesman Oliver Cartwright said: “Badger control is regrettable but absolutely necessary to break the cycle of infection and if the disease continues to run unchecked in wildlife there will be thousands more cattle and badgers infected.
“From an animal health and welfare point of view this is simply not acceptable.
“We must remember this is not about eradicating badgers it is about controlling disease in specific target areas where the level of TB is persistent and high.”
Mr Cartwright said tests in the south-west showed badger culling had cut TB infection by 30 per cent. In the area outside the trials the incidence of TB in cattle remained the same.”
The NFU is also supporting a badger TB vaccine which, although it will not cure an infected badger, helps to control the spread of the disease.
“Vaccinating badgers currently involves trapping and injecting the animals, which is impractical and costly,” said Mr Cartwright.
He said that an oral vaccine that can be left for badgers to eat is still a long way off.
“While we wait for vaccine developments we need to address the disease nightmare that Shropshire cattle farmers currently face.”
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The answer to me is simple, don’t take cattle into areas populated by badgers.
The badger was in this country thousands of years before intensive cattle farming was ever thought of.
It’s clear that farmers created this problem by introducing this disease to badgers, innoculating their cattle, then blaming the badger for spreading the problem.
We see here just another example of farmers moaning about something they themselves have created.
Had they adequately protected their cattle from the movements of the indiginous wildlife in the first place, this problem would never have occured.
But oh no! thats far to expensive! instead they kill whatever gets in the way of profit, be it foxes, badgers, birds of prey, wolves, wildcats, pine martins, there’s nothing cheaper and more productive than “the good old twelve bore” to solve the problem.
Prehaps our “hard working British farmers” should look to vacinate the local population of badgers before introducing cattle to the land. Surely vacinating 20-30 badges is cheaper than vacinations for 200-300 cattle!!
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