A vet who fought many battles

UK - One of the biggest mistakes in agriculture in recent years was the decision to cut back on testing for TB in cattle.
calendar icon 10 November 2006
clock icon 1 minute read
So says a vet who was working at the start of the first major drive to eradicate the disease more than 60 years ago.

Now in his Welsh-language autobiography, called ‘Dau Fywyd Cyfan’ (Two Full Lives), D.G.E. Davies, of Llandysul, Ceredigion, tells how a concerted effort controlled the disease for years but then the authorities loosened their grip, leading to the present crisis.

After the War in 1944, it became compulsory to test every herd and to do so every year,” says Mr Davies who graduated from London University in 1943 and who is now 86 years old. He is a former chairman of the South Wales branch of the British Veterinary Association.

“One of the major mistakes was to relax the regulations over testing in the 1970s, leaving a gap of two or three years between tests,” he says. “Every week now, you hear of a herd being stricken, with all the heartache that involves.”

He also calls for a full, once-and-for-all investigation into the links between badgers and TB in cattle.

Source: farmersguardian.com
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