Scotland eyes bovine TB-free status in UK

Scotland is set to capitalise on its low incidence of bovine tuberculosis by applying to the EU Commission for bovine tuberculosis (TB) -free status.

Only the reservations of auctioneers and meat wholesalers have delayed the Scottish government from applying for "officially tuberculosis free" status.

The rest of the industry, including the country's chief vet, Simon Hall, have appeared keen to adopt even tighter measures to keep the disease at bay and give Scotland an edge over the rest of the UK.

Hall said bovine TB continues to spread in England and Wales bringing significant cost and misery to affected farmers and increasing the potential threat to Scotland.

Scotland's current bovine TB status has been influenced by a policy taken two years ago which requires all cattle arriving in the country from high risk areas in England and Wales to be pre- and post-movement tested.

However, should TB-free status be granted, the likelihood is that all store cattle entering the country - regardless of where they come from - would require pre-movement testing.

Those from high-risk areas and the whole of Wales is now in this bracket, would also require post-movement tests.

There is however a fear in the auctioneering and meat processing sectors that the sustainability of abattoirs and markets could be compromised by the potential reduction in the supply of cattle coming to Scotland.