Dairy and beef farmers in the West Country already living with the daily nightmare of TB could be worse off under proposed changes to the testing regime.
That was the warning from individual farmers, the NFU and other bodies in responses to a consultation on the issue, published yesterday.
And vets called for a national register that would allow the tracking of individual animals rather than herds.
The consultation proposed a series of measures to tackle TB transmission in cattle with tighter controls on movement and more declaration of their history at the point of sale.
While the majority backed more tools to fight TB, which is still seeing thousands of animals slaughtered as a result every week, many voiced concerns about extra red tape and the creation of a ‘two-tier’ system.
Respondents also said there was little chance of any measures making a substantial difference without first tackling the reservoir in wildlife.
The first proposal drew support for the status quo, introduced on October 1, of movement within the same sole occupancy authority (SOA) no longer being exempted from pre-movement testing.
Farmers can still move cattle without testing, but only after applying for a licence controlled by the AHVLA and if holdings are within ten miles of the main farm.
Two-thirds supported the second proposal: a requirement for cattle keepers to provide the TB history of their herd when selling stock.
Those in support said such a move would enable farmers to make informed and risk-based decisions.
But the 23 per cent who objected suggested that it could create a two-tier market and disadvantage those farmers in the high risk area, which centres on the South West.
The NFU said members’ opinions were split between those in high and low risk areas.
“For this proposal to work, the amount of time the animal has spent on the holding it is moving from must be declared and displayed. For batches of animals, this should be the animal in the batch with the lowest number of days on the last holding. This information is essential to prevent the treatment of all animals in the annual testing area as high risk and the consequent devaluation.”
The BVA also supported the proposal but commented that government should clarify exactly what information sellers would have to provide
It added: “The whole herd could have been purchased three months previously from the dispersal of a herd that has just been derestricted following ten years of TB restrictions. There is a need for a national database.”
The final proposal, for compulsory post-movement testing of cattle moved from herds in the annual testing areas in England and Wales to herds in the low risk area of England.
This was objected to by The Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations, which said it would be a new cost and nuisance to those that attend shows on an irregular basis and impractical for those who attend shows professionally.
The Tenant Farmers’ Association favoured annual testing for the whole country.
Source: Western Daily Press