WRITTEN STATEMENT BY THE

WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT

 

 

 

Title:	TB Eradication Programme
Date:	13 January 2010
By:	Elin Jones, Minister for Rural Affairs

 

Bovine TB is out of control and unsustainable. It is one of the biggest threats facing our farming industry. The cost of trying to control this continues to escalate dramatically.

 

Last year nearly £24 million was spent by the Welsh Assembly Government in compensating farmers alone for the slaughter of cattle with TB. This is a dramatic rise since 2000 when the bill was just over £1 million.

 

In 1997 around 700 cattle were culled because of this disease. This increased to12,000 by 2008. And we expect the figures for 2009 to be similar.

 

We know that cattle and badgers are the main source of this infection, and that if we want to eradicate bovine TB then we need to tackle disease in both species.

 

Over the last two years we have put in place a TB Eradication Programme, based on sound scientific evidence, and in consultation with experts. The programme is comprehensive using all means possible to tackle the problem.

 

The main components of the eradication programme involve limiting the spread of the infection by cattle. This has included heightened surveillance and control measures to find and get rid of infection at an earlier stage.  

 

A test of all cattle herds in Wales , TB Health Check Wales, has given us a better picture of the disease across the country. It shows that the disease is continuing to spread and uncovered 62 new cases in north Wales alone, in areas previously thought to be relatively disease free. All herds in Wales will also be tested again this year, and will have to comply with TB Pre Movement Testing rules.

 

We have also reviewed the legal powers for bovine TB and are currently consulting on new legislation that will allow us to strengthen Pre Movement Testing regulations, and penalise farmers who do not comply with TB requirements or have overdue tests, by cutting their compensation.

 

Across Wales , we are tackling the disease in cattle in order to limit and reduce the spread of infection. I hope that in the next few years this work will begin to demonstrate a positive impact on the statistics. But we need a different approach in areas where the disease is a really serious problem and tackle the wildlife source of infection as well.

 

I have said from the outset that before sanctioning removing badgers, even within one area, I would need to be satisfied that it was justified and could make an impact on TB in cattle. I also said that my final decision would be subject to meeting a number of conditions.

 

I have decided that we will pilot an approach never used before in the UK and establish an Intensive Action Pilot Area in a defined part of west Wales, where a limited badger removal project will take place alongside stricter cattle disease control measures. This approach is working in countries like New Zealand , where wild possums and cattle are the main sources of infection, and which has seen a sustained downwards trend in TB in cattle since 2001.

 

While there are mixed views about the benefits of culling badgers in controlling the spread of TB, evidence from a number of studies shows that culling badgers can reduce TB in cattle. We have learnt lessons from previous trials and will apply them in the pilot area.

 

I have said all along that we are not replicating previous trials.  As well as removing badgers I have agreed simultaneous, enhanced cattle controls that will be applied in the area. Doing both together will increase the overall impact of both strategies.

 

The pilot area has been chosen because it meets the criteria that experts agree are needed for any badger removal project to be successful, including the requirements outlined by the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) and Sir David King. This includes the duration of any cull, size of area, permeability of boundaries, and land access.

 

The pilot will take place in an area where 42% of cattle owners have had at least one case of TB in their herd since 2003. It will be located mainly in north Pembrokeshire, but will also include small areas of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

 

This area has one of the most serious TB problems in Britain . Between January 2005 and December 2008, 58% of the compensation paid in Wales was paid to farmers in the west Wales region. Within the pilot area, 30% of the herds in the area in the year prior to their TB breakdown had not had any cattle moving into their herds, suggesting that the source of infection was local.

 

We will undertake five annual culls over a limited period each within the area which is approximately 288 km², larger than the minimum requirement outlined by modelling commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government.

 

Lessons have been learnt from the Randomised Badger Culling Trials and, although you would not be able to find a perfect boundary, I am assured that the boundaries of this pilot area will provide greater benefits in tackling the disease and limiting badger movements (perturbation).

 

Two thirds of the boundary comprises coast, river or open hill grazed by sheep and unfavourable habitat for badgers. In the remainder of the area we have tried to locate it next to sheep grazing or woodland.

 

We have undertaken nearly 1500 visits to landowners in the area as part of defining the boundary. All but a minority co-operated with only a small number refusing access or expressing an opposition to a cull.

 

I commissioned an independent ecological consultancy to assess potential consequences that removing badgers may have on other species within and outside the pilot area. Officials from the Countryside Council for Wales have carefully considered the reports and I am satisfied that the approach is compatible with the Habitats Directive and section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

 

The report indicates that within five to ten years of a badger cull ending the area will become naturally re-populated with badgers. As that happens we will take preventative action to stop badgers in the area from becoming re-infected. During the pilot we will be monitoring the wildlife in the area.

 

While the problem is most serious in cattle and badgers, other species including goats and camelids are also susceptible to bovine TB. Those within the pilot area will be tested for TB. To date no camelids have been identified within the area but this will continue to be monitored.

 

We expect that culling badgers, together with cattle measures in this area will, over time, reduce TB in cattle. 

 

Our aim is to achieve at the very minimum similar benefits to the RBCT, which was a 9% overall reduction in TB in cattle two years after the last cull take place. With the additional cattle measures that we are putting in place, I expect the impact to be greater than this. The situation will not improve overnight, and disease incidence could go up in the area in the short term.

 

We will put in place robust measures to monitor and evaluate this pilot and will be producing an annual report outlining progress. We will monitor the impact on cattle disease incidence, the effectiveness of the cattle measures and the social impact on farming families.  All badgers removed will also receive a post mortem examination. Based on previous studies in areas where TB incidence is high, we expect to find infection in a significant number of badgers.

 

I have the powers to authorise a badger cull in the IAPA North Pembs under the Tuberculosis Eradication ( Wales ) Order 2009. It also gives me the legal powers to authorise badger vaccination.

 

In the long term I hope that a vaccine, for use in badgers, may provide a solution for a TB free wildlife.

 

However, the Badger Vaccination Deployment Project, a trial in England to assess how practical it is to use an injectable vaccine for badgers, will not begin until later this year. An oral vaccine, the most practical way of vaccinating badgers, will not be available until 2014 at the earliest. Research is also taking place into developing a vaccine for cattle.  We are maintaining close links with those involved in this work to ensure that we can make best use of vaccination as and when appropriate in Wales .

 

We will be writing to the landowners to let them know if they are within the pilot area and how this will affect them. We will be working with them to secure voluntary participation and to make the pilot as effective and as non-intrusive as possible so that neither the local community nor visitors will be aware of the activity. We do have the legal powers required to gain access to land, but this will only be used as a last resort.

 

We have also agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Police.   The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 will remain in force and any evidence of illegal activity will be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecutions undertaken.

 

We will now issue contracts so that we can start surveying badger setts in the area. Staff working on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government will be professional, responsible and highly trained. When badger removal starts in the pilot area it will be carried out in a humane way.

 

Solicitors acting on behalf of the Badger Trust are seeking a judicial review of the Tuberculosis Eradication ( Wales ) Order 2009. The Welsh Assembly Government is opposing the claim. Therefore, in the meantime, work to establish the pilot area will continue.

 

I will publish the submission on which I based my final decision in due course on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

Source: newsroom - meattradenewsdaily.co.uk

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