UK cattle testing for bovine tuberculosis to commence in 2010

UK's Rural Affairs minister, Elin Jones, has announced on Friday (July 10) the cattle testing arrangements for bovine tuberculosis (TB) that will prevail in 2010.

NFU Cymru president Dai Davies welcomed the minister's decision to test all cattle in herds in Wales during 2010, whilst the information obtained from Health Check Wales to establish where disease is evaluated.

Davies said the Health Check Wales has already identified 77 reactor herds which would probably not yet have been identified had it not been for this initiative, and believes that it is a sensible approach to repeat the testing regime across all bovine herds in Wales next year.

He said this will clearly add significantly to the industry's costs and the demands on the industry in management terms but, he hopes that this will be regarded by the Welsh Assembly government as a temporary measure until such time as it can establish whether pre-movement testing is making a meaningful contribution to the reduction of this devastating disease.