How I think we can tackle bovine TB effectively
We are now hearing that the badger cull cost £8,000 per animal, writes Andrew Collier. This in my opinion cannot be cost effective.
So do we vaccinate badgers? Yes, is the answer, once the disease has been eradicated and it can be done cost-effectively as there is little point in vaccinating an already diseased animal.
The testing for TB has been inadequate in the light of many years of Government neglect in dealing with the problem. In my own experience, I have bought pre-movement tested animals that have been yarded and have then gone down with TB.
This in my view leaves doubts about the reliability of the test.
With one particular animal the vets did not believe the result, so we were made to keep it another two months and test again.
The animal reacted on the second test . I was told one lesion then the animal would go into the food chain, more than one it would be skipped – it went in the skip.
The only way forward is for a more reliable test to be carried out on every farm in the UK on an annual basis, so the spread of the disease can be monitored more accurately.
How do we now eradicate the disease? First of all we need a Government that values the livestock industry and is not prepared to see it go into terminal decline by dithering and indecision.
There is only one way to tackle the problem and that is by reactive culling.
To explain, in the event of a TB breakdown on annual testing or pre-movement testing when all the animals that have failed are sent for slaughter, that would be the appropriate time to cull the TB-infected badgers on that farm.There is little point in restocking at even more cost to the farmer and taxpayer to be reinfected.
The badger setts on neighbouring farms could also be tested for TB. If they were clear they could be left or taken out if they reacted. To make sure of a high success rate I would suggest gassing or cage trapping and shooting.
Poisoned baits could be used if this could be administered safely not to affect other animals. Shooting free running badgers is not the right way forward. By tackling it in this way, you only take out diseased setts leaving a healthy population of livestock and badgers.
This method, with the help of the farmers working with Defra, could be a success at a fraction of the cost and timescale.
There are no winners under the current system and administration. We must lobby our MPs to achieve the results we so desperately require.
* Andrew Collier farms at Ingestre, near Stafford
