Political Debate Shines Light on TB Eradication

UK - NFU Cymru members meeting in Newtown this week heard from Stephen James a Pembrokeshire dairy farmer who sits on the Assembly’s TB Eradication Programme Board who said, “At long last the political decision has been taken to tackle this disease head-on in both our cattle and wildlife populations.

20 May 2008

2 minute read

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As farmers we have always fully acknowledged the part we have to play in the eradication of this disease, but it has been a war that we have been losing and losing badly in recent years as successive governments have chosen to ignore the role that infected wildlife play in spreading the disease.”

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"I want to see not only a cattle population free of the disease, but also a healthy wildlife population free of the disease."

David Jones

“Things have now changed, we’ve moved on and the Assembly Government has now committed a budget and strategy to eradicate the disease from our cattle and wildlife and we must make absolutely certain that we are successful in clearing our farms and countryside of this horrendous disease.” said Stephen James.

David Jones, farming at Kerry said, “I want to see not only a cattle population free of the disease, but also a healthy wildlife population free of the disease. For far too long, Tb control measures have focused exclusively on the disease in cattle, and have ignored the role that wildlife play as disease reservoirs and in spreading the disease.

The Assembly’s announcement is a decisive move in the right direction and clearly a strategy that is anything but comprehensive in its scope would have represented more wasted effort and money on the part of government and farmers. We now know what our government wants to achieve and they’ve put in place the beginnings of a plan which in the years to come will see a big reduction, even the eradication of this crippling disease on our farms and in our wildlife.”

In closing the meeting NFU County Chairman, Bob Morgan said, “Montgomeryshire farmers have always held eradication of this disease to be the main objective and governments have for too long ignored the role that infected wildlife play in spreading this disease. Clearly, the Minister’s announcement indicates positive steps to eradicating the disease from the Welsh countryside. Once we have achieved this objective we must ensure that Wales remains TB free in the long term.”